January 04, 2010, 12:43 AM EST
By Ed Johnson
Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The Solomon Islands archipelago in the Pacific was hit by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake today causing a local tsunami, disaster agencies said. Several houses collapsed and some people were injured as they ran away from the shore in panic, Agence France-Presse reported.
The quake hit at 9:36 a.m. local time about 105 kilometers (65 miles) south-southeast of Gizo, at a depth of 30.5 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said sea level measurements taken off Honiara indicated a tsunami of 6 centimeters (0.2 feet) was generated. There was no region-wide threat, it said.
“The earthquake caused a small wave,” AFP cited Julian Makaa of the country’s National Disaster Management Office as saying. Some homes collapsed on the island of Rendova, near Gizo, he said.
The Solomon Islands archipelago, about 2,500 kilometers east of Australia, lies in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences frequent seismic tremors. About 50 people were killed and more than 5,000 left homeless there after an 8.1- magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami in April 2007.
Today’s 7.2-magnitude quake was the strongest of several temblors to hit off Gizo. A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck at 8:48 a.m. local time, according to the USGS, followed by quakes of 5.3, 5.2 and 5.7. Gizo is the second-largest town in the Solomon Islands with a population of about 6,000 people, according to AFP.
The tsunami warning center said that “small, non- destructive sea level changes” could last for several hours in other coastal areas.
There was no tsunami threat to the Australian coastline, the Bureau of Meteorology said on its Web site.
--Editors: Paul Tighe, Dave McCombs
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at +61-2-9777-8647 or ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Tighe at +61-2-9777-8626 or ptighe@bloomberg.net.
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Source:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-04/solomon-islands-hit-by-7-2-magnitude-earthquake-local-tsunami.html
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