A strong earthquake measuring 6.9 Mwp was recorded at 13:03 local time (3:03 in Italy) off the coast of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The quake was also recorded by the Ingv room in Rome, according to data from which the earthquake had a hypocenter about 12 km deep and an epicenter 20 km from the west coast of the island of Guadalcanal. The tremor was followed by another, magnitude 5.5, depth of 16 km, half an hour later.
At first, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) had issued an alarm – now withdrawn – for possible rogue waves on the coasts of the Solomons within 300 kilometers of the epicenter of the quake.
The Solomon Islands authorities have urged citizens to move to elevated areas as a precaution, but at the moment there are no reports of injuries or serious damage to buildings.
The two tremors are certainly linked to the 5.6 magnitude one that hit Java, Indonesia yesterday, where at least 162 people died and hundreds were injured, while rescue operations continue.