Another quake strikes off Solomon Islands

Honiara, Feb 8 (AFP) Another earthquake, this one reading 7.0 on the Richter scale, hit off the Solomon Islands, the latest massive aftershock following a 8.0-magnitude quake which sparked a tsunami three days ago, US seismologists said. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 2:26 A.M. (1526 GMT) near the Santa Cruz Islands, which are part of the Solomons, at a depth of 26km. As with an earlier major aftershock initially measured at 7.1 but later revised down to 6.8-magnitude, the quake was not expected to generate a widespread tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. "However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100km of the earthquake epicentre," it added in a statement. The earlier aftershock today had sent villagers fleeing to higher ground two days after an 8.0-magnitude quake and tsunami left 13 people dead and many more missing. The disaster has left some 6,000 people homeless, the national disaster management office said. (AFP) KKM KKM 02082325 NNNN