Powerful quake strikes Solomon Islands

The quake struck at a depth of about60 kilometres with an epicentre 102 kilometres southwest of Kira Kira on MakiraIsland at 8:40 pm (0940 GMT) the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centersaid there was no destructive widespread tsunami threat but added in abulletin: "Earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis thatcan be destructive along coasts located within 100 kilometres of the earthquakeepicentre.

"Authorities in the region of theepicentre should be aware of this possibility and take action."

The quake had initially been measuredat magnitude 7.1 but was later revised down.

Like much of the Pacific, the Solomonsregularly experiences earthquakes.

A string of tremors rocked the westernSolomon Islands in January, with the largest of 7.2 causing a tsunami estimatedat eight feet.

Around 1,000 people -- almost a thirdof the population -- are believed to have been left homeless on Rendova Island dueto earthquake and tsunami damage.

In April 2007, an 8.0-magnitudeearthquake in the western Solomons triggered a tsunami that killed more than 50people and displaced thousands. Gizo harbour lost most of its wharves andjetties in the quake and subsequent tsunami.

In September last year, a devastatingtsunami swept along coasts in the Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga, killing186 people and wiping out entire villages.

Villages and resorts in Samoa,American Samoa and northern Tonga were flattened by the giant waves generatedby the massive earthquake, the strongest in nearly a century.