Learn about earthquakes and share news about recent quakes. What causes earthquakes/ can they be predicted? When will the next big quake hit and where?
A string of fresh earthquakes rocked the western Solomon Islands late Tuesday and early Wednesday but there were no early reports of damage or casualties, officials said. The largest earthquake late Tuesday had a magnitude of 6.9, followed by five aftershocks measuring at least 5.0 in the isolated region about 300 kilometres (185 miles) west of the capital Honiara. The latest tremors followed a series of quakes on Monday, with the largest one of 7.9 causing a tsunami estimated at eight feet... Read Full Story
A series of powerful aftershocks rattled the Solomon Islands Tuesday, a day after a 7.2-magnitude quake and tsunami left around 1,000 people homeless on the remote Pacific islands. The aftershocks, ranging from magnitude 5.3 to 6.9 struck just minutes apart from around 1215 GMT and came as officials visited isolated villages to check on damage after Monday's earthquake. The latest aftershocks struck very close to Monday's quake off the South Pacific nation according to seismologists at the... Read Full Story
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.8 undersea earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, the latest in a series near the South Pacific island nation since Monday, but police said there was no tsunami or reports of further damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred about 100 miles southeast of the small island of Gizo. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the quake, at a depth of 33 km (20 miles), may cause a local tsunami, but that there was no Pacific... Read Full Story
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.8 undersea earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, the latest in a series near the South Pacific island nation since Monday, but police said there was no tsunami or reports of further damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred about 100 miles southeast of the small island of Gizo. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the quake, at a depth of 33 km (20 miles), may cause a local tsunami, but that there was no Pacific... Read Full Story
Authorities in the Solomon Islands said Tuesday around 1,000 people had been left homeless by powerful earthquakes and a tsunami which hit the isolated western region of the South Pacific nation. The National Disaster Management Office scaled back initial estimates that 500 homes had been destroyed or damaged in the worst affected areas on Rendova and Tetepare islands, which lie about 300 kilometres (186 miles) west of the capital Honiara. Aftershocks continued into Tuesday following Monday... Read Full Story
A major 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Atlantic ocean early Tuesday east of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, a sparsely populated British territory, a US monitor said. The quake struck at 3:55 am (04:55 GMT) in waters 685 kilometers (425 miles) east of Bristol Island, part of an chain inhabited mainly by scientists on a series of bases, the US Geological Survey reported. The earthquake, about 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) east of the Falkland Islands, occurred at... Read Full Story
About 500 homes were destroyed or damaged when a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the Solomon Islands on Monday, causing panic but no major injuries, disaster officials said. The National Disaster Management Office said it was possible that thousands of people could be homeless, but an exact assessment could not be made until ground parties were able to reach remote islands on Tuesday. The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was 103 kilometres (65 miles) from the earthquake-prone... Read Full Story
Aftershocks continued to shake the Solomon Islands Tuesday as officials visited isolated villages a day after a powerful 7.2 magnitude quake and tsunami damaged at least 500 homes. Information from the remote area remained sketchy but a police patrol boat from the capital Honiara left Monday night to assess damage in the region about 300 kilometres west of the capital of the South Pacific nation. There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries following the quakes and tsunami on Monday... Read Full Story
A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific on Monday with the potential to cause a local tsunami, seismologists said. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 103 kilometres from the island town of Gizo at about 9:36 am (2236 GMT Sunday) and was measured at a depth of about 30 kilometres (19 miles). No tsunami alert was issued but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said quakes of this size could create local tsunamis "that can be... Read Full Story
Two major earthquakes rocked the Solomon Islands on Monday, destroying or damaging scores of homes and unleashing a tsunami that crashed ashore. Initial reports said no one was seriously hurt. One temblor registered a 7.2 magnitude and the South Pacific nation's National Disaster Management Office said reports of widespread damage were beginning to filter in late Monday. The tremors were centered beneath the ocean floor near the town of Gizo, which was badly damaged in April 2007 when a 8.1... Read Full Story
