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© ReutersDamage: A house lies destroyed after a 10ft tsunami hit the remote Solomon Islands yesterday
Landslides and a tsunami triggered by a major earthquake have left thousands of people homeless on one of the Pacific Solomon islands.

One-third of the population of Renova have been left without shelter after a 10ft wave destroyed 200 houses and left debris strewn across the coast.

Photographs taken from police helicopters showed extensive damage to the remote western island after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the islands yesterday.

Deep scars on hills and cliffs are also visible after the tremors caused landslides.

More than 1,000 people have been displaced on the island, which is 190 miles from the capital Honiara, but there were no reports of any casualties.

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© Agence France-Presse/GettyHomeless: Emergency supplies are being delivered to the island of Renova after more than 1,000 people were left without shelter
Islanders headed to higher ground after the earthquake struck, officials said.

Police commissioner Peter Marshall said: 'People are very sensitive, as a quake conjures up memories and people immediately begin going to higher ground.

'The fact it was daylight, the isolated nature of the wave and that the landslides were in a relatively sparsely populated areas also helped.'

The largest quake, at 7.2 on the Richter scale, happened at around 9.30am local time yesterday and triggered the tsunami.

At least nine other quakes above magnitude 5.0 have hit the region since.

Danny Kennedy, who owns a dive shop in the provincial capital Gizo, said the general rule was that 'if there's anything more than 20 seconds of shaking or any sea water recedes, head for the hills'.

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© ReutersScarred: The earthquake also caused landslides in sparsely populated areas of Renova island
Police boats are patrolling along the coastline, where many homes are at sea level, National Disaster Management Office spokesman Julian Makaa said.

Emergency food, water and tarpaulins are being shipped to the island.

The Pacific Solomon Islands lie on the 'Ring of Fire' - an arc of seismically active zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim. Ninety per cent of the world's earthquakes occur there.