An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 that struck the Solomon Islands lifted the island of Ranongga 10 feet (three meters) above sea water. It exposed the island’s pristine coral reefs. In some places in the Solomons, the beaches resemble a barren moonscape with once vibrant corals bleaching under the sun.
“These are not unusual occurrences for an earthquake of this magnitude,” said Rick MacPherson of the Coral Reef Alliance in San Francisco, California. “During the Asian tsunami two years ago, Banda Aceh [in Indonesia], stretching down almost the extent of the peninsula, experienced similar uplift.”
