Five moderate earthquakes have struck off the Solomon Islands, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The first quake, measuring 5.6, hit at 06:43 pm (0743 GMT) Saturday off the northwest tip of the main island in the Solomon Sea, the US Geological Survey said.
It struck 116 kilometres (72 miles) southwest of the town of Chirovanga at a depth of 50 kilometres.
The second struck four minutes later in the same area with a magnitude of 5.3 at a depth of 60 kilometres, according to the USGS.
A third 5.0-magnitude tremblor hit nine minutes later also in the same location at a depth of 59 kilometres.
Less than two hours later in the same area, another struck, 49 kilometres deep and measuring 5.1 while the fifth hit at 11:43 pm measuring 5.5.
A tsunami warning has not been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
The Pacific nation, 2,575 kilometres east of Australia, has just fewer than 500,000 people living on dozens of islands.
It is part of the Pacific "ring of fire", and frequently experiences volcanic and seismic activity.
