A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Solomon Islands, 130 kilometers from the capital Honaira earlier this morning triggering tsunami warnings for a number of neighbouring South Pacific islands.
Following the earthquake a 12-centimetre tsunami wave was observed off the coast of Honiara and a 10-centimetre wave was observed off Luganville in Vanuatu, SMH reports.
However, despite residents still be reeling from powerful aftershocks, the initial tsunami warning has been cancelled for parts of the South Pacific, which had included the coasts of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Kosrae, news reports state.
The quake struck 63 kilometres south-west of the Solomon Islands town of Kirakira, almost immediately followed by a 5.5-magnitude aftershock,the paper reports.
According to the ABC, Solomon Islands’ police said no reports of damage have been reported yet, but are waiting to hear from remote areas closest to the tremor’s epicentre. Authorities, it was reported, say there was a large population on the island, but not much infrastructure.
