On Tuesday, two massive earthquakes shook the island nation of Soloman Islands, a day after an earthquake in another island nation, Indonesia, killed over 150 people. The National Center for Seismology, India’s earthquake monitoring agency, announced on Tuesday morning that the tremors would strike the country within 30 minutes.
According to NCS, the first earthquake had a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale. It happened “on 22-11-2022, 07:33:07 IST, Depth: 10 Km, Location: 57km SW of Honiara, Solomon Islands,” according to the tweet.
The magnitude of the second earthquake was 6.1 on the Richter scale. It made landfall in the country at 8.08 a.m. Indian Standard Time, 56 kilometres south-west of Honiara. It was ten kilometres deep.
#Earthquake M7.2 Solomon Islands 8mins ago 22 Nov 02:03 UTC – report/info: https://t.co/CficKtLiin
— Earthquake Monitor (@EQAlerts) November 22, 2022
So far, no one has been injured or their property been damaged.
The Soloman Islands are made up of six main islands and over 900 smaller islands. Honiara, the capital, is located on Guadalcanal, the largest island.
The Solomon Islands are located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc along the Pacific Ocean’s rim that is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
At least 160 people were killed in an earthquake that struck Java on Monday. The rescue team has been looking for survivors among the rubble of the collapsed buildings. According to local authorities, the majority of those killed are children, and the death toll may rise further. The earthquake measured 5.6 on the Richter scale. It made landfall in the Cianjur region of West Java.
According to the US Geological Survey, it struck about 17 kilometres south-west of Malango at a depth of 10 kilometres.
A second 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck nearby 30 minutes later.
Several aftershocks have been recorded in the area by Geoscience Australia.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a tsunami warning after the quake, saying dangerous waves were possible for coasts within 300 kilometres of the epicentre.