A powerful earthquake off the Solomon Islands has generated a tsunami that damaged dozens of homes and reportedly killed several people in the South Pacific island chain.

The tsunami from Chile’s deadly earthquake hit Japan’s main islands and the shores of Russia today but the smaller-than-expected waves prompted the lifting of a Pacific-wide alert.

The first tsunami from an earthquake in Chile hit Japan’s outlying islands today, but while the initial waves were small and most of the Pacific islands already in its path were spared damage, officials warned a bigger surge could follow.

A SERIES of aftershocks measuring up to magnitude 6.0 rocked the South Pacific island nation of Tonga into Friday morning, a day after an even more powerful quake triggered a tsunami warning.