Small tsunami hits Solomons after powerful earthquake, other warnings ended

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An official at the disaster management office in Vanuatu said there were no reports of damage or injuries there.

More than 50 people were killed and thousands lost their homes in April 2007 when a magnitude-8.1 quake hit the western Solomon Islands, sending waves crashing into coastal villages.

The Solomons comprise more than 200 islands with a population of about 552,000 people. They lie on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world’s quakes occur.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday’s quake struck 81 kilometers (50 miles) west of Lata at a depth of 28.7 kilometers (17.8 miles).

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Associated Press writers Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand, and Rod McGuirk in Canberra contributed to this report.

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