6 Earthquakes Rock Solomon Islands
Fox News (Link) - AP (January 5, 2010)
A series of six earthquakes rocked the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, a day after landslides and a tsunami left 1,000 people homeless, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.
A 6.8-magnitude quake hit near the islands Tuesday, followed minutes later by five other quakes.
On Monday, a 7.2-magnitude temblor triggered landslides and a tsunami wave that was up to 10 feet high as it plowed into the coast, island officials said.
Some 200 houses were destroyed on Rendova, an island some 190 miles from the capital Honiara. Roughly 3,600 people live on Rendova.
Photographs taken from police helicopters Tuesday showed debris lining the foreshore and damaged houses on the coasts of Rendova and Tetepare, as well as deep scars on hills and cliffs caused by landslides.
Hillsides crashed down and the tsunami inundated homes on Monday, but residents' memories of earlier disasters probably helped prevent any casualties, officials and residents said.