By Recep Sakar
MELBOURNE, Australia (AA) – The Solomon Islands has been shaken by powerful aftershocks almost 12 hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck an area off its coast in the Pacific Ocean.
A tsunami warning was issued for the islands and other Pacific locations soon after the initial early Friday morning (Thursday evening GMT) tremor, but it was lifted soon after.
The United States Geological Survey said that the tremor was initially reported to be of a magnitude 8.0, but it was later downgraded to 7.7.
It reported that the quake’s epicenter was around 63 kilometers (39 miles) south west of Kirakira — the provincial capital of the Solomons’ Makira-Ulawa Province — at a depth of 40 kilometers.
The site is around 130 kilometers from the Solomons’ capital Honiara.
Australia’s ABC news reported police as saying that t35 houses were damaged on Makira, including police barracks in Kirakira.
It quoted one Kirakira resident as saying that there was some initial damage when the tremor struck.
“Everybody got up from their beds and everybody ran out from their houses and at the same time everybody moved up to the hillside while it was still shaking, a few of the houses here fell this morning,” Edith Haunagi said.
“People ran up to the hillside. There were no reports of deaths but there were reports of damage to properties and buildings that were close to the beach.”
The Solomons consists of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands.
It lies within the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire”, one of the world’s most active fault lines, where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
