7.6-magnitude earthquake hits near Solomon Islands

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck on Sunday morning local time in the Solomon Islands and a tsunami warning has been issued.

The U.S. Geological Survey said that the quake hit about 60 miles from Kirakira, Solomon Islands, reports CNN. It was initially believed to be an 8.3, but was downgraded. The earthquake was centered at about a depth of 18 miles.

According to Reuters, an earthquake that strong could be quite destructive, but at the moment, no reports have surfaced about any damage done by the quake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings for the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. Warnings initially issued for Fiji, Australia, Indonesia and some others have already been cancelled.

The PTW said, "It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation," notes USA Today.

This quake comes only 10 days after one struck off the coast of Chile that left at least six dead, but didn't manage to generate much of a tsunami either.

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