Tsunami threat canceled after magnitude 6.9 quake in South Pacific
SYDNEY -- A tsunami threat message has been canceled after a strong earthquake struck the Santa Cruz Islands in the South Pacific Saturday.
No damage or casualties have been reported.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says the quake measured 6.9, down from a preliminary estimate of 7.5. It hit at a depth of 20 miles and was centered undersea 47 miles northwest of Lata in the western Solomon Islands, where the Santa Cruz Islands are located.
The Santa Cruz Islands are about 1,400 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia.
The Solomons comprise more than 200 islands with a population of about 552,000 people. The islands lie on the "Ring of Fire" -- an arc that stretches around the Pacific rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.