Tsunami strikes Solomon Islands

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6516759.stm

 

A tsunami has swept ashore in the Solomon Islands following a strong undersea earthquake in the South Pacific Ocean, police said.

 

Waves several metres high were reported to have crashed into some of the Solomons' western islands. There were unconfirmed reports of people missing.

 

Tsunami warnings were also issued for Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and some smaller Pacific islands.

 

The quake measured 8.0 and hit at 0740 local time on Monday (2040 GMT Sunday).

 

It struck 345km (215 miles) north-west of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara, north-east of Australia, the US Geological Survey said, at a depth of 10km (six miles) below the surface.

 

'Villages flooded'

 

Sgt Godfrey Abiah of the Solomons police force said the waves had hit the town of Gizo, in the New Georgia Islands region in the west of the Solomons, which was only 45km (25 miles) from the epicentre of the quake.

 

He said police in Gizo had been urging people to leave coastal areas when the tsunami hit, but communications were lost soon afterwards.

 

"We have lost radio contact with the two police stations down there and we're not getting any clear picture," he told The Associated Press.

 

Julian McLeod, a Solomon Islands disaster management official, said: "Two villages were reported to have been completely inundated.

 

"We have received reports of four people missing."

 

Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that at least three people had been killed.

 

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said authorities in countries with coastlines in the region should take appropriate action.

 

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicentre within minutes to hours," the warning centre said.

 

Japan's Meteorological Agency was looking into the possibility of waves hitting Japanese islands after the quake, Japanese media said, while experts in Hawaii were also monitoring the situation.

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There is a current warning along The Great Barrier Reef of a wave around 4-8 inches high.