Magnitude 8.0 quake in the Soloman Islands Lots of Tsunami warnings. The Solomon Islands are northwast of Australia. Population is about 500,000 Bloomberg has a news writeup:
Earthquake Near Solomon Islands Sparks Tsunami Alert (Update3)
An earthquake of magnitude 8 struck near the Solomon Islands, causing a tsunami wave to crash into the coast and prompting an alert for Australia and South Pacific island nations.
Residents of the coastal settlement of Gizo retreated to high ground as waves damaged buildings, including a hotel, Robert Iroge, editor of the Solomons Star newspaper said by telephone from the capital, Honiara, today. Julian McLeod of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office said there were unconfirmed reports of two villages in the west being flooded, with four people missing, the Associated Press reported.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology advised people to avoid beaches in the eastern states of Queensland and New South Wales. "It is quite a dangerous situation," spokesman Rob Webb told Sky Television News. "We are concerned about the entire east coast of Australia for the next two to three hours."
The quake occurred at 7:39 a.m. Solomon Islands time, 41 kilometers (25 miles) south southeast of Gizo in the New Georgia archipelago and 348 kilometers west northwest of Honiara, at a depth of 10 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey said in an e- mailed alert. The USGS initially reported a magnitude 7.6 quake and later revised it to magnitude 8.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami alert was in effect for the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Fiji and northeastern Australia. The center said it received reports of a 15-centimeter high wave at Honiara. According to Webb, that could prove destructive, depending on the depth of the water.
The magnitude system is logrithmic -- an eight is ten times greater than a seven which is ten times greater than a six. I hate to think of the damage there. Like I said, keep these people in your prayers.
