CANBERRA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A tsunami alert has been issued for the east coast of Australia after an earth tremor measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck the Solomon Islands on Monday morning.

    The Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio quoted the Bureau of Meteorology as saying there is a possible tsunami threat to the coast of Queensland state.

    The tsunami could start from 9:30 local time on Monday (2330 GMT Sunday). According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake took place at 2040 GMT Thursday with the epicenter located 45 kilometers south of the New Georgia Islands, and around 350 kilometers west-northwest of the capital Honiara, at a depth of 10kilometers.

    The radio report quoted an eyewitness as saying she felt rumblings from the earthquake but believing no buildings in the city have been damaged by the tremor.

    "It (the tremor) lasted ... let's say two minutes. Not much damage here. We felt a gentle rock. Nothing bad happened," she said.

    The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has also issued a warning based only on the size of the quake.

    "An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicenter within minutes to hours," the center said.