A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Solomon Islands on Tuesday (Nov. 22), according to the USGS, with witnesses speaking of tremors that tossed televisions and other objects to the ground. A tsunami warning was issued about 300 km from the earthquake’s epicenter, located 55 km from Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, according to the United States Institute of Geological Studies (USGS) and the Tsunami Warning Center of the Pacific.
“It was a big one” earthquake, Joy Nisha, receptionist at the Heritage Park hotel in Honiara, told AFP, adding: “Some items in the hotel fell. Everyone seems to be fine, but panicked”. An AFP journalist in the capital said the tremor lasted about 20 seconds. Electricity was cut in certain parts of the city and people left their offices to take refuge in height.
The USGS has revised the magnitude of the earthquake to 7, after having initially announced 7.3. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 13 km at 1:03 p.m. local time (02:03 GMT).