Sharp 6.1 quake shakes eastern Solomon Islands; no tsunami

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A sharp, magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook the eastern Solomon Islands on Tuesday morning, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury, emergency officials said. The US Geological Survey reported the quake occurred in the South Pacific ocean, some 133 kilometers from the town of Kira Kira in the eastern Solomons, at a depth of 53 kilometers below the sea floor. The temblor was centered 370 kilometers southeast of the capital, Honiara. Hundreds of villagers on Makira, the nearest island to the quake's epicenter, were reported to have headed for higher ground, fearing a tsunami in the wake of the quake. However, no tsunami came, government spokesman George Herming said in Honiara - where the quake was also felt. Some 15,000 people live in hundreds of villages along the eastern side of Makira Island.