A magnitude 7 earthquake shakes the Solomon Islands and activates the tsunami alert

MADRID, 22 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

An earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale has shaken this Tuesday morning the southern Solomon Islands, east of the island of Papua New Guinea, as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The tremor occurred at 0303 Spanish peninsular time about 15 kilometers southwest of the island of Guadalcanal, near Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.

In addition to the earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 20 kilometers, a tsunami warning has been issued for the coasts of the Pacific archipelago within a radius of 300 kilometers from the epicenter.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meters above tide are possible for some coastlines of the Solomon Islands, while tsunami waves less than 0.3 meters they are possible on all the coasts of the Solomon Islands, as well as some of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

The Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, as well as islands in the Pacific region are located along the Ring of Fire, where about 90 percent of the world's earthquakes occur.

On Sunday, more than 160 people were killed by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Indonesia, most of whom were minors.