Magnitude 6.8 Quake Hits off Solomon Islands

Hong Kong (PNA/Xinhua) — A 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted 119 km southwest of Dadali, Solomon Islands at 02:31 Beijing time on Thursday (1831 GMT on Wednesday), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.82 km, was initially determined to be at 8.9462 degrees south latitude and 158.4205 degrees east longitude.

The USGS had earlier measured the earthquake at 7.0 magnitude.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement that there was no tsunami threat from the quake based on all available data.

A 5.2-magnitude aftershock followed the larger earthquake.

In 2013, the Solomons were hit by a tsunami after an 8. 0-magnitude quake, leaving at least 10 people dead and thousands homeless after buildings were destroyed. (PNA/Xinhua) FPV/PJN