Earthquake/Tsunami hits Solomon Islands

The excellent US Geological Survey have produced a report on the undersea earthquake and series of al least 5 after shocks which hit the Solomon Islands just after midnight GMT. They give the strength of most shocks in the range 5.5 - 6.0 on the Richter Scale, the BBC reports 8.0.

A tsunami was generated which has aused a great deal of damage to sea shore buildings and has hit Gizo 25 miles from the epicentre. Queensland beaches some 1,400 kms away have been warned of potential strong waves and Sydney beaches have been closed as a precaution.

The highly efficient Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (see Video) initially issued a warning for all countries in the South Pacific region.

It was down-scaled later , but authorities in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, north-eastern Australia, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji were being advised to stay on alert.