Monday, January 04, 2010
HONIARA: A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific on Monday, triggering panic but causing no major tsunami, disaster officials said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 103 kilometers from the earthquake-prone island town of Gizo at about 9:36 am (2236 GMT Sunday) and was measured at a depth of about 30 kilometers (19 miles).
It was the largest of a swarm of tremors centered on the area, ignited by a 6.5 magnitude quake at 8:48 am and followed several hours later by quakes of magnitude 5.3 and 5.2.
On the tiny island of Rendova, near Gizo, several houses collapsed but there were no other reports of damage, Julian Makaa of the National Disaster Management Office told foreign news agency.
HONIARA: A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific on Monday, triggering panic but causing no major tsunami, disaster officials said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 103 kilometers from the earthquake-prone island town of Gizo at about 9:36 am (2236 GMT Sunday) and was measured at a depth of about 30 kilometers (19 miles).
It was the largest of a swarm of tremors centered on the area, ignited by a 6.5 magnitude quake at 8:48 am and followed several hours later by quakes of magnitude 5.3 and 5.2.
On the tiny island of Rendova, near Gizo, several houses collapsed but there were no other reports of damage, Julian Makaa of the National Disaster Management Office told foreign news agency.
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