A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, according to the USGS, with witnesses reporting tremors that threw televisions and other objects to the ground.
According to the United States Institute of Geological Studies (USGS) and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), a tsunami warning was issued 300 km from the epicenter, 55 km from the capital Honiara.
“It was a big” earthquake, Joy Nisha, a receptionist at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara, told AFP, “Some things in the hotel fell. Everyone is fine, but panicking.
An AFP journalist said the ground shook for about 20 seconds. Power supply was cut off in some parts of the city and people left their offices and took refuge in the heights.
The USGS revised the earthquake’s magnitude to 7 after announcing it as 7.3. The earthquake struck at 1:03 pm local time (02:03 GMT) at a depth of 13 km.
According to the PTWC, waves of one to three meters are expected on the coasts of the Solomon Islands and less than three meters on the coasts of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
More Stories
Allegations of corruption Qatar warns of ‘negative impact’ of European measures
USA: Famous “Hollywood cat” euthanized in Los Angeles
The campaigner who called for the shooting of Ukrainian children has not been charged