Tsunami Strikes Solomon Islands
A massive earthquake struck Wednesday east of Kira Kira in the Solomon Islands that has generated a localized Tsunami, five people have been confirmed dead and coastal villages have been damaged, triggering a Pacific wide alert.
A hospital spokesman said four of the victims were elderly, and one was a boy aged 10-12 years old. the toll is expected to rise.
David Jepsen, a seismologist from Geoscience Australia told Xinhua that Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, was about 500 kilometers west of the event. “At 12 minutes past midday, a 7.9 earthquake in the Santa Cruz Islands (near the Solomon Islands) occurred. A shallow event.” He said. “The nearest part from our location estimate is an island called Ndeni, which is part of the Santa Cruz Islands. They would have had quite strong shaking and could potentially have some damage there from shaking.”