A magnitude seven earthquake struck beneath the Solomon Sea just before midnight, last night.
Thursday, 17th October 2014
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 65 km west-south-west of Panguna, Papua New Guinea (642km west-north-west of Honiara, Solomon Islands) at 11:31 last night, New Zealand Daylight Time. The quake, centred off the coast of Papua New Guinea, was 58 km deep according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reports the earthquake as magnitude 7.1 at a depth of 33 km. It notes that no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data.
GeoScience Australia reported the earthquake as magnitude 7.2 at a depth of 50 km. It estimated that the quake would have caused damage within 120 km of the epicentre and would have been felt up to 1500 km away.
[Compiled from data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey and its contributing agencies; the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, and GeoScience Australia.]