Earthquakes hit Solomon Islands
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Another powerful earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale hit the western part of Solomon Islands Tuesday night, followed by a number of smaller quakes with a magnitude of five, including one at 6.0 magnitude.
The U.S. Geological Survey said that the 6.9 magnitude earthquake, was recorded at 23:15 Solomons local time Tuesday (1215 GMT). It was centered 115 km southeast of the town of Gizo in the western province at a depth of 33 km.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the quake generated a small tsunami, but there were no reports of any damage from it or from the quake.
The police in Solomon Islands said it is believed that no further damage was caused by a series of earthquakes early Wednesday morning.
Solomon Islands' police commissioner, Peter Marshall, said about three dozen villages and about 1,000 people have been affected by the quakes, but there have been no reports of damage overnight, according to Radio New Zealand International.
On Monday, a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in South Pacific. The quake was centered 105 km southeast of Gizo at about 09:36 a.m. local time on Monday (2236 GMT on Sunday) at a depth of 30.5 km.
It followed an earlier 6.5-magnitude quake that struck at 08:48a.m. local time (2148 GMT Sunday), which was centered 90 km southeast of Gizo at a depth of 10 km.
Monday's earthquakes generated big waves that struck at several coastal villages, destroying homes and properties.
One village has been severely affected and there were at least 500 homes were damaged or destroyed.
The Solomon Islands governments had dispatched relief supplies to the affected areas on board patrol boat Lata on Monday evening and more relief goods will be dispatched.
