Earthquake hits near Solomon Islands, no tsunami

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A moderate magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit near the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of damage, local police and media said.

The quake struck at 2148 GMT and was centered 55 miles south-southeast of the small island of Gizo, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake occurred at a depth of 33 kilometers (20.5) miles.

"No tsunami threat exists to coastlines in the Pacific," the Hawaii-based center said. A large 8.1 magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami struck Gizo in 2007, killing 52 people and leaving thousands homeless. The Solomons are part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where colliding continental plates frequently causes seismic activity.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Jonathan Standing)