Tsunami alert lifted after M7 earthquake near Solomon Islands

Update 1: Updates lifted tsunami alert, headline

Bangkok Desk, Nov 22 (EFE).- The Pacific Tsunami Warning System lifted its alert Tuesday after a magnitude 7 earthquake shook waters near the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, where authorities have not reported injuries but have registered material damages.

The earthquake occurred at 1.03 pm local time (02:03 GMT) at a depth of 15 kilometers, 16 km southwest of Malango and 56 kilometers from capital Honiara, according to the United States Geological Survey, which monitors seismic activity worldwide.

A few minutes after the strong tremor, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System issued an alert for risk of a potential tsunami within 300 kilometers of the epicenter.

At least one large aftershock, with a magnitude of 6 at a depth of 10 kilometers, has been recorded since.

The Solomon Islands, with a population of about 725,000 people, sits on the so-called Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity that is shaken by about 7,000 tremors a year, most of them moderate. EFE

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