By CNN Staff
updated 12:09 AM EST, Wed February 6, 2013
The center of the quake was located some 360 miles east-southeast of Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancels all tsunami alerts in the region
- No immediate reports of damage or injuries from the 8.0-magnitude quake
- Evacuations are ordered for some coastal residents of New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands
(CNN) -- An 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific on Wednesday, triggering a localized tsunami that didn't threaten the wider region.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially issued a tsunami warning for several countries in the area, including Papua New Guinea and Fiji. But the center later canceled the alert after reassessing the relevant data.
It also called off a tsunami watch it had sent out for a larger number of countries in the region such as New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia.
A wave about 1-meter high was observed near the Solomon Islands, said Brian Shiro, a geophysicist at the tsunami warning center.
But there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The center of the quake was located near a remote, eastern part of the Solomon Islands, known as the Santa Cruz Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. It was initially reported to be 3.6 miles deep, but that was later revised to a depth of 17.8 miles.
Augustine Bilve, one of the directors at a hospital in Lata, the main town in the Santa Cruz Islands, said that some patients were being relocated, but that the hospital was intact.
Authorities elsewhere in the region took preemptive measures following news of the quake.
The New Caledonia High Commission in the capital of Noumea ordered the immediate evacuation of coastal residents on the eastern coast of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands.
The main quake was preceded by a 6.3-magnitude quake in the region and was followed by several others, the largest of which had a magnitude of 6.6, the USGS said.
CNN's Dave Alsup and Sarita Harilela contributed to this report.
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Tsunami detected after quake strikes near Solomon Islands
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