At least 10 people have died in the Solomon Islands after a tsunami swept ashore following a strong undersea earthquake in the South Pacific.
The main town in the western Solomons, Gizo, was hit by waves several metres high that swamped buildings and washed people out to sea, officials said.
The quake measured 8.0 and hit at 0740 local time on Monday (2040 GMT Sunday).
A tsunami warning for the Pacific from Australia to Alaska was issued but later cancelled.
The National Disaster Council chairman told reporters that some villages had been "completely wiped out".
It struck 345km (215 miles) north-west of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara, north-east of Australia, the US Geological Survey said, at a depth of 10km (six miles) below the surface.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6516759.stm
The main town in the western Solomons, Gizo, was hit by waves several metres high that swamped buildings and washed people out to sea, officials said.
The quake measured 8.0 and hit at 0740 local time on Monday (2040 GMT Sunday).
A tsunami warning for the Pacific from Australia to Alaska was issued but later cancelled.
The National Disaster Council chairman told reporters that some villages had been "completely wiped out".
It struck 345km (215 miles) north-west of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara, north-east of Australia, the US Geological Survey said, at a depth of 10km (six miles) below the surface.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6516759.stm
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