A powerful magnitude 8 earthquake hit the Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, but no tsunami was reported hours after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an alert for nearby islands.

A strong aftershock has rattled the Solomon Islands, hampering relief efforts to tsunami-ravaged villages.

Aid workers struggled to reach remote, tsunami-ravaged villages in the Solomon Islands today and the death toll rose to at least nine as more bodies were found in wrecked homes and debris.

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.