A magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific today and forced a tsunami warning, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake struck at 17.38 GMT (0438 local time) and was located 68 kilometers southwest of the town of Kirakira, with a hypocenter of 48.7 kilometers below the earth's surface.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued an alert for the possibility of swell for the archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands (US), while it has not yet been reported if there is damage in the area of the epicenter.
The PTWC also reported potential damage from rising sea levels over the next three hours in Vanatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Kosrae.
The earthquake was especially felt in Makira, the main island of one of the most unpopulated provinces of the Solomon archipelago.
The islands are in the so-called "Ring of Fire", which marks one of the most seismic and volcanic activity areas of the planet in the margins of the Pacific Ocean.