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At least four people were reported missing, officials said, as region-wide disaster warnings were issued.
A tsunami alert for the South Pacific states was issued after the quake struck about 45 kilometres off the coast of the Solomon Islands at 7:39 a.m. local time on Monday (4:39 p.m. eastern time on Sunday).
The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.6, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said 8.1. Police in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara, say authorities in the western town of Gizo have reported a wave several metres high crashing ashore, shortly before communication lines with the region were cut.
Julian McLeod of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office said there were unconfirmed reports that two villages in the country's far west were awash.
"Two villages were reported to have been completely inundated,'' McLeod told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio." We have received reports of four people missing.''
There are no early reports of casualties.
There has been no tsunami alert issued for the west coast of North America, John Cassidy of the Geological Survey of Canada in B.C. told CTV Newsnet in a phone interview.
The initial tremor appeared to have immediately been followed by a second one of similar magnitude, Japan's Meteorological Agency's web site said.
A journalist at the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. in Honiara told ABC Newsradio that early reports from the island of Simbo spoke of damage to houses and waves travelling 200 metres inland.
The U.S. Geological Centre said the earthquake struck at 7:39 a.m. local time, Monday -- about 10 kms. beneath the sea floor. The epicenter was 345 kilometres from Honiara.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii has issued a tsunami warning for Hawaii, although there was no immediate threat to the U.S. state. Some coastal areas could experience unusual currents and changes in sea levels, the center said on its Web site.
"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the centre said in a statement.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology says the country's east coast is on a tsunami alert -- including the coastal areas of Queensland and New South Wales. The warning also affects Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Meanwhile, Japan's Meteorological Agency is looking into the possibility of tidal waves hitting the Japanese archipelago, Kyodo news agency said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in Japan.
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