Tsunami warning given after 7.7 tremor shakes Solomons

By Recep Sakar

MELBOURNE, Australia (AA) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 has struck an area off the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, with a tsunami warning issued soon after.

The United States Geological Survey said that the tremor, which hit early Friday morning (Thursday evening GMT), was initially reported to be of a magnitude 8.0.

It reported that the quake’s epicentre was 63 kilometres (39 miles) south west of Kirakira -- the provincial capital of the Solomons' Makira-Ulawa Province -- at a depth of 40 kilometres.

The Solomons consists of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania

"Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within the next three hours along some coasts of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Kosrae," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.