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The
first quake hit offshore at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), about 16
km southwest of the area of Malango, said the United States
Geological Survey which initially put its magnitude at 7.3
before revising it down to magnitude 7.0.
A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.0, struck nearby 30
minutes later.
"We have sent a chopper up to fly over, to verify the scope and
scale of damage," Brian Tomu, a public affairs official with the
National Disaster Management Office, told Reuters by telephone.
The disaster authority's focus was Guadalcanal island, where
Honiara is located, and nearest to the epicentre, he said.
People rushed out of offices in panic, seeking higher ground in
the aftermath of the large earthquake, he said.
"There are no known injuries but the roof of the High Commission
annex has collapsed, which would point to likely damage
throughout the city," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
told parliament.
Honiara International Airport suffered damage to its ceiling but
the building was intact, a Solomon Islands Airline worker at the
airport told Reuters by phone.
Aftershocks continue to be felt, he said, declining to be named
as he is not authorised to speak publicly. Airport staff would
continue working but the damaged section of the airport terminal
was closed to passengers.
The Solomon Times newspaper reported power had been cut for most
of Honiara, as preliminary assessments of damage to power lines
are made.
The Solomon Islands Meteorological Service said there was no
tsunami threat, but warned about unusual sea currents.
"People are also advised to be vigilant as aftershocks are
expected to continue," it said on social media.
The meteorological service's director, David Hiriasia, told
Reuters the power outage had delayed its advisory.
"We could not access information as fast as we would have wanted
to run our threat analysis," he said, adding "we have not
accessed our office building yet".
The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation said on Facebook
that all radio services had gone off the air.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Akanksha Khushi in
Bengaluru; Writing by Alasdair Pal and Lewis Jackson; Editing by
Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates)
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