Earthquake 8 degrees Richter causing tsunami in Pacific Ocean

The powerful seismic shaking Solomon Islands on February 6, caused small tsunamis along the Pacific coasts, and killed at least 5 people.

The US Geological Survey said earthquakes occurred at a depth of 5.8km, followed by two aftershocks of 6.4 and 6.6 on the Richter scale.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled the tsunami warning in the area at 03:05 GMT, about two and a half hours after the earthquake near the Santa Cruz Islands in Solomon.

The figure shows the magnitude 8 earthquake in the archipelago
Solomon (the biggest yellow circle). (Graphic: Myforecast)

"The sea level table indicates that a tsunami occurred after the earthquake," AFP said from the center before removing the warning.

Tsunami under one meter reached some parts of Solomon. Sea level rise in Vanuatu and New Caledonia is also recorded. In Fiji, chaos occurs when people try to flee for fear of a tsunami.

The Australian earthquake control agency said the largest wave measured 91 cm high in Lata, belongs to Santa Cruz's main island of Ndende.

"There are 5 people killed and 3 injured. Among the dead there is a boy, the remaining 4 are old," said a nurse at the local hospital.

Prime Minister Solomon Gordon Darcy Lilo said four villages in the Santa Cruz Islands were destroyed. 60 to 70 houses were swept away by the waves. The communication with Santa Cruz is quite difficult because the islands are far away.

In 2007, a tsunami after an 8-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in Solomon and left thousands of people homeless. The earthquake was so powerful that it moved a whole island and pushed the coast away for dozens of meters.