Solomon Islands Hit By Tsunami

Big earthquakes churned the depths of the South Pacific Monday, triggering a tsunami that swept ashore the Solomon Islands.

The BBC reported waves several feet high crashed into some of the Solomon’s western islands, and there were unconfirmed reports of people missing.

Earlier, tsunami warnings were issued for Papua New Guinea, northeast Australia and some other Pacific islands. CNN reported tsunami watches were posted for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, American Samoa, Guam and Fiji.

Japanese authorities were monitoring the country’s coastline.

CNN reported there were back-to-back quakes under the ocean. The BBC said a quake, apparently the first one, measured 8 and hit at 7:40 a.m. Monday 215 miles northwest of the Solomon Islands’ capital Honiara, northeast of Australia.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred at a depth of six miles below the surface.

The BBC report quoted a member of the Solomon police force saying that waves hit the town of Gizo, in the Solomon’s New Georgia Islands — which is only 25 miles from the quake’s epicenter — and that 10-foot high water was rushing through town. The town later lost its communication system.

A Japanese television report said at least three people had been killed. A New Zealand television report quoted a hotel worker in Gizo saying that several buildings along the water front had been damaged.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a six-foot wave was reported in Honiara, the BBC said.