A tsunami warning has been cancelled after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands Saturday afternoon, according the U.S. Geological Survey.
The 30-kilometre-deep undersea earthquake happened about 100 kilometres south east from the provincial capital of the Makira-Ulawa Province, KiraKira.
A tsunami warning was issued for regions surrounding the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea based on the earthquake evaluation, but it is not known if one was generated.
Officials said there was no tsunami threat for B.C., Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.
The warning was cancelled by the National Weather Service an hour after it was issued.
READ MORE: Another earthquake hits the same region less than 24 hours later.
The National Weather Service said an earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicentre within minutes to hours.
The earthquake’s magnitude was downgraded from 8.3 to 7.6 shortly after it hit.
According to the USGS, the area is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates.
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