A major earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific on Tuesday. The US earthquake control center put the magnitude at 7.0, other measuring stations at up to 7.3. The quake struck at noon (local time) near Malango in the province of Guadalcanal at a depth of about ten kilometers. The tsunami warning system in the USA warned of an impending tidal wave. Accordingly, tsunami waves of up to one meter in height are possible on the coasts within a radius of 300 kilometers around the epicenter of the earthquake.
“Residents are advised to move to higher ground immediately,” Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s office said. There is currently no major damage to buildings in the center of the capital Honiara. So far there have been no reports of casualties or further damage.
The Solomon Islands are made up of hundreds of islands and lie east of New Guinea. Surrounding island states include Tuvalu, Fiji and Vanuatu.
More than 160 people were killed in an earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java on Monday. Both the Solomon Islands and Indonesia lie on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active zone on earth. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common there.