Third strong earthquake in two weeks hits off Solomon Islands

Sydney: On Sunday, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands, the US Geological Survey said, the third strong tremor off the Pacific nation in less than two weeks. The quake hit at 4.46 pm (1116 IST) at a depth of 39 kilometres about 83 kilometres west-northwest of Kirakira, the USGS added. On 10 December a 6.9-magnitude quake struck off Kirakira. The previous day a 7.7-magnitude tremor triggered severe shaking and a tsunami warning, although there were no reports of serious damage.