1,000 homeless in Solomon Islands after quake

Visual assessments from the air showed extensive damage on a remote western island after a 7.2-magnitude temblor struck near the South Pacific's Solomon Islands on Monday, said disaster office director Loti Yates.

No injuries have been reported some 30 hours after the biggest in a series of quakes churned a tsunami wave that was up to three metres high as it plowed into the coast, officials said.

However, more than 1,000 people have been affected after 200 houses were destroyed on Rendova, an island some 300 kilometres from the capital Honiara. Only 3,600 people live on Rendova.

Photographs taken from police helicopters Tuesday showed debris lining the foreshore and damaged houses on the coasts of Rendova and Tetepare, as well as deep scars on hills and cliffs caused by landslides.

Hillsides crashed down and the tsunami inundated homes Monday, but residents' memories of earlier disasters probably helped prevent any casualties, officials and residents said.