Hawaii escapes tsunami after 7.8 earthquake hits Solomon Islands

HONOLULU, Hawaii - A tsunami alert for Hawaii and other islands in the Pacific has been cancelled.

The drama began when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near the Solomon Islands in the early hours of Friday morning local time. The quake was first reported as being of an 8.0 magnitude. This was later downgraded to 7.8.

"Based on all available data, a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas, even far from the epicenter. An investigation is underway to determine if there is a tsunami threat to Hawaii," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said when the quake hit.

The earthquake struck 30 kilometres off the island of Makira, seventy kilometers southwest of the island's main city Kirakira on that island around 4:38 am local time Friday.

"A tsunami is possible in the next three hours along some coasts of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Kosrae," the PTWC said.

However around 45 minutes after the earthquake hit, the PTWC reined in its warning about a possible tsunami hitting Hawaii. "The tsunami watch is cancelled for the state of Hawaii effective at 8:36am HST.

The centre put the exact location of the quake at 10.7 South  161.4 East Location  in the Solomon Islands, northwest of Australia, near Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. 

"The earthquake was one of the biggest and longest I have ever felt," Tali Hong, a resident of the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara, some 200 kilometers northwest of the epicenter told CNN. "I was born here in Honiara and lived here most of my life.

"I'm located in central Honiara, in one of the big urban areas. Just checked with my neighbors and surrounding area; there is not visible damage. However, we have no electricity at the moment."

The major earthquake was followed by a lesser magnitude quake, registering a magnitude of 5.5 in the same area.

Earlier in the day, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 100 miles off Northern California’s coastline at 6:50 am local time Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 

The U.S.G.S. said the quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 7.5 miles about 100 miles west of Ferndale, California. 

The epicenter of the quake was relatively close to the surface and identified to be about 7.5 miles down. The main impact of the quake was felt in Ferndale town in California that has a population of 1,300.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center of the National Weather Service said that the Northern Californian coast earthquake was originally reported to have a magnitude of 6.8. 

The quake was not believed to be powerful enough to generate a destructive tsunami.

According to reports, no damages or injuries were reported.