Two earthquakes, one a magnitude 7.2 quake, struck near the Western Solomon Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey said today, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.
The larger quake, at 9:36 local time was centered 64 miles southeast of Gizo, the USGS said. It followed an earlier magnitude 6.5 quake that struck at 8:48 local time and was centered 54 miles southeast of Gizo at a depth of 6 miles.There were no warnings posted on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center web site. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has previously warned that earthquakes of such magnitude may cause local tsunamis that could be destructive along coasts within a few hundred kilometers of the epicenter.
Gizo was badly damaged and more than 50 people killed when a magnitude 8.1 quake struck on April 2, 2007, sending a tsunami crashing into the coast.