Quake of 7.7 magnitude had put residents on alert in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and other island countries

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Buildings have been damaged in the Solomon Islands after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast early on Friday, but fears of a tsunami receded after initial warnings to numerous islands.

Loti Yates, from the National Disaster Management Office in the capital Honiara, told Australia’s ABC there were reports of houses crumbling in parts of the country, including on the island of Makira, the largest in Makira-Ulawa province.

He said communications were poor, but he had received reports that “some dwellings, houses etc have been collapsed due to the shake”.

“[One community] that has been in touch with us said they are calling from up the hills, which is good, they activated their own emergency plans and know what to do, so we are happy.”

The quake sparked a tsunami warning across a wide area of the South Pacific after it struck at a depth of about 49km at 4.38am local time on Friday.

But in later advice, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said all available data indicated the threat had largely passed.

The centre had warned of possible tsunami waves for islands including the Solomons, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Kosrae.

Hawaii was also briefly put placed under a tsunami watch.

“Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat to the state of Hawaii,” the PTWC said.

Australian and New Zealand authorities said there was no risk to the coastlines of either country.

