A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific on Monday, triggering panic and causing some damage but no major tsunami, officials said.
Several houses collapsed, leaving a number of people homeless, and some tourists reportedly suffered minor injuries, disaster officials said, after a series of tremors shook the area.
The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the biggest quake was about 103 kilometres from the earthquake-prone island town of Gizo, measured at a depth of about 30 kilometres (19 miles).
It was the largest of a swarm of tremors centred on the area, ignited by a 6.5 magnitude quake early on Monday and followed several hours later by aftershocks of magnitude 5.3 and 5.2 and 5.7
On the tiny island of Rendova, near Gizo, several houses collapsed but there were no other reports of damage, Julian Makaa of the National Disaster Management Office told AFP.
"The earthquake caused a small wave, and a few people suffered minor injuries as they ran away from the shore in panic," he said.
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