[2] The Solomon Islands arc as a whole experiences a very high level of earthquake activity, and many shocks of magnitude 7 and larger have been recorded since the early decades of the twentieth century.

The 2 April earthquake, however, nucleated in a 250 kilometre-long segment of the arc that had produced no shocks of magnitude 7 or larger since the early 20th century.

[5] As high-magnitude ocean waves propagate at high speeds close to 25 meters per second, they traversed the 55-kilometer distance from the epicenter to Gavo in less than 20 minutes.

From Honiara, one of the first warnings came from the People First Network's Simbo email station, situated close to the epicentre.

PFnet's Technical Advisor David Leeming relates that 20 minutes after the earthquake, Nickson Sioni from Simbo came on the (HF) radio and announced the arrival of a huge wave that had washed away several houses and come inland about 200m.

The largest waves were reported on the northern tip of Simbo Island, where maximum tsunami run-ups were 12 m (39 ft), completely washing away two villages, Tapurai and Riquru, and killing 10 people.

[25] Papua New Guinea, itself affected by the tsunami, has contributed US$340,000 and a light plane that can better access smaller, more remote airstrips.

[30] A Taiwanese fishing boat ran aground on coral reefs while delivering supplies, but it was successfully evacuated by a United States Navy helicopter.

[33] The national government may also relocate islanders away from low-lying areas pending a review of long-term rehabilitation and disaster preparedness plans.

[35] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.