南太平洋强烈地震数人死亡

A powerful earthquake shook islands in the South Pacific Wednesday, triggeringa regional tsunami that reports say destroyed dozens of homes and killedseveral people.

The magnitude-8 quake hit a sparsely populated region near the Solomon Islands. A one-meter tsunami later washed ashore on the island chain. A region-wide tsunami alert was lifted a short time later.

Seismologist Dale Grant with the U.S. Geological Survey tells VOA the initialquake was followed by at least 14 aftershocks of magnitude-5 or bigger.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the initial quake struck at 0112 UTC nearthe Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomons at a depth of about six kilometers.

At least six people have been reported killed in the Santa Cruz Islands.Authorities also are investigating reports that several villages were damagedor destroyed in the hard-to-reach area. It was not clear whether the deathswere the result of the earthquake or the tsunami.

这次8级地震发生在所罗门群岛附近一个人烟稀少的地区。地震引起1米高的海啸冲击。该地区曾经发布海啸警报，随后警报被取消。

美国地质调查局的地震专家格兰特对美国之音说，至少发生了14次5级或5级以上的余震。

美国地质调查局说，发生在国际标准时间1点12分的这次地震位于所罗门群岛的圣克鲁斯群岛附近，震源深度大约为六公里。

据报道，圣克鲁斯群岛有至少六人死亡。当局正在调查有关偏僻地区几个村庄受损或被毁的报道。目前还不清楚遇难者是死于地震还是死于海啸。