A magnitude 7 degree (22) earthquake struck the Solomon Islands this Tuesday, causing moments of panic with power cuts in parts of the capital, Honiara.
The Pacific Alert Center said the tremor had created a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of the archipelago within a 300-kilometer radius from the epicenter, but after a few hours the warning was disabled.
In the archipelago’s capital, Honiara, an AFP reporter said the shaking caused by the quake lasted about 20 seconds.
“It was amazing,” Joy Nisha, a receptionist at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara, told AFP. “Something fell inside the hotel. Everything seems fine, but there was panic,” she added.
Power was cut in some parts of the city. Neighborhood residents left their workplaces and fled to higher places.
After an initial estimate of 7.3 degrees, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) revised the magnitude of the earthquake to 7, with a depth of 10 kilometers off the southwest coast of the island of Guadalcanal.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.