6.5 Earthquake Hits Solomon Islands

A 6.5 earthquake off the Solomon Islands caused alarm Monday morning, shaking homes across the island chain.

The quake struck at 8:48am local time 88 kms (55 miles) south-southeast of Gizo at a depth of 10 kms (6 miles) according to the USGS.

The location of the quake placed it in the Pacific on the Papua New Guinea side of the Solomons, with open water to Queensland to the South West.

The were no reports of damage at the time of writing. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a “Tsunami Information Statement (high)” rating for the quake, a step below an actual tsunami warning. The Australian Tsunami Warning Centre issued no alerts.

Update: second quake hits Solomon Islands.