Breaking News - Quake Triggers Tsunami in Solomon Islands

Earthquake Revised to 8.1 Magnitude

A major earthquake rumbled off the coast of Australia Monday morning (Sunday afternoon US time,) wreaking death and destruction in western portions of the Solomon Islands.

The 8.1 magnitude quake spawned a tsunami that inundated the western shores of the Solomon Islands, killing at least three people and damaging at least two small communities along the country's western shorelines. Early reports put the quake at a magnitude of 7.6. The US Geological Survey later revised it upward to 8.0: geological agencies in Japan and Australia put it nearer 8.1.

The US Geological Survey website shows that the quake struck the Solomon Islands about 7:40am local time, the epicenter rocking the ocean floor at a depth of some 6.2 miles. In the US, that corresponds to 4:40pm EST.

A subsequent tsunami inundated two small western villages on the island of Mono, where water destroyed homes along the beach. Japanese news sources estimated sixty buildings collapsed during the initial quake. Mono is part of the Treasuries Islands, at the far western edge of the Solomon Islands. The area is isolated, hampering the release information on damage and casualties. Also affected was Simbo Island, where surged about 220 yards inland.

The city of Gizo in the Solomon Islands was slammed by a wave several yards high that destroyed homes and businesses, including a hotel. The Gizo hospital sustained damages and was evacuated. According to the Associated Press, a tsunami warning was issued for the area, but communication was lost moments later. Subsequent reports indicate police were trying to evacuate residents to higher ground when the first tsunami wave struck. Gizo is the provencial capital of New Georgia and is home to some 20,000 people.

The Solomon Islands western village of Munda was one of several other villages devastated by the tsunami.

Several aftershocks have rocked the area since the biggest earthquake, including a 6.7 quake seven minutes after the big temblor, and a 6.4 quake just a few minutes after that. Several more have measured at magnitudes of 5.0 and above.