A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, according to the USGS, with witnesses speaking of tremors that tossed televisions and other objects to the ground.
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A tsunami warning was issued about 300 km from the earthquake’s epicenter, located 55 km from the capital Honiara, according to the United States Institute of Geological Studies (USGS) and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). ).
“It was a big” earthquake, Joy Nisha, receptionist at the Heritage Park hotel in Honiara, told AFP, adding: “Some items in the hotel fell. Everyone seems to be fine, but panicked.
An AFP journalist in the capital said the tremor lasted about 20 seconds. Electricity was cut in certain parts of the city and people left their offices to take refuge in height.
The USGS has revised the magnitude of the earthquake to 7, after having initially announced 7.3. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 13 km at 1:03 p.m. local time (02:03 GMT).
Waves of one to three meters high are possible on the coasts of the Solomon Islands, and less than three meters on the coasts of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, according to the PTWC.