Updated at 9:40 a.m. ET: At least five people were killed on Wednesday after a strong earthquake in the South Pacific generated a 3 foot tsunami that aid workers said washed away homes and wiped out remote island communities.

A tidal surge moved houses by up to 30 feet, and there were reports of people and fishing boats being washed out to sea, according to local volunteers for humanitarian charity, World Vision.

The magnitude 8.0 quake struck Wednesday about 3 miles under the Santa Cruz Islands, a thinly-populated part of the Solomon Islands that lie east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

A 3 foot wave hit near the town of Lata, swamping some villages and the town's main airport as people fled to safety on higher ground, Reuters reported.

There was no tsunami threat to Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. 

According to Reuters, Lata hospital's director of nursing, Augustine Pilve, told New Zealand television that five people had been killed, including a boy aged about ten. Pilve added that more casualties were possible as officials were making their way to villages that may have been hit.

It was not immediately clear if the deaths were caused by the tremor or the tidal surge.

World Vision said two communities in the province of Temotu had been "almost entirely wiped out by a one metre sea surge."

In the town of Venga, with a population of about 750, the surge shifted homes by up to 30 feet, damaging around 90 percent of them, the charity added. Nela, with a population of almost 200 people, saw 95 percent of its homes washed away, the charity said.

"I am currently walking through one community [in Lata], and I'm knee-deep in water," Jeremiah Tabua, World Vision's emergency response coordinator in the Solomon Islands, said in a statement released by the charity. "I can see a number of houses that have been swept away by the surge."

Solomon Islands police commissioner John Lansley told Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the worst hit area was around Lata.

"We understand a part of the airstrip has been damaged, which is going to cause some issues in respect to getting relief aid out there, but that is being assessed at this moment," he said.

The quake struck at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday local time (8:23 p.m. Tuesday ET) and was followed by dozens of aftershocks including a 6.3 magnitude tremor at 5:35 p.m. local time (1:35 a.m. ET) Wednesday. A magnitude-6.0 quake struck at 12:55 a.m. Thursday local time.

USGS officials said the later shocks were "not at all surprising."

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued and later cancelled a tsunami warning for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, Wallis and Futana.

A tsunami watch was issued and later cancelled for Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and Guam. 

Yuya Shino / Reuters

Japanese women in kimonos walk during heavy snowfall at Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo, as they attend a ceremony celebrating Coming of Age Day, Jan. 14, 2013. Youths across Japan are honoured with special coming-of-age ceremonies when they reach the age of 20.

Koji Sasahara / AP

A man crosses a pedestrian bridge in the snow in Tokyo, Jan. 14, 2013.

Franck Robichon / EPA

Pedestrians cross a large avenue as heavy snow falls in Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 14, 2013.

Kim Kyung-hoon / Reuters

People clear snow off a road, next to a car stranded in the snow, in Tokyo, Jan. 14, 2013.

Tokyo had its first snowfall this season today.  A blanket of snow made for pretty pictures but difficult commutes. Flights to and from the capital's Haneda airport were cancelled, parts of expressways closed and local train services delayed. 

Watch the video report below.

Slideshow: Winter's frozen splendor

AFP - Getty Images

Ice and snow changes our environment, as winter engulfs our world.

Launch slideshow

Darren Whiteside / Reuters

Snow covers the Dome of the Rock on the compound know to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City on Jan. 10, 2013.

Abir Sultan / EPA

An Ultra Orthodox Jew wades through the snow next to the Old City walls in Jerusalem on Jan. 10, 2013. The region has been gripped by a cold wave accompanied by heavy snowfalls over the last few days.

Youssef Badawi / EPA

Children with their families play in the snow on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, on Jan. 10, 2013, after the region was hit by heavy snowfalls overnight. Syria has been gripped by a cold wave accompanied by heavy snowfalls for the second day, cutting off roads and bringing life to a standstill. The government has postponed the mid-year exams because of the blizzard that has blanketed all streets and hilltops.

The worst snowstorm in 20 years shut public transport, roads and schools in Jerusalem and along the northern Israeli region bordering on Lebanon on Thursday. 

Jerusalem was transformed into a winter wonderland after heavy overnight snowfall turned the Holy City and much of the region white, bringing hordes of excited children onto the streets.

Powerful winter storm brings snow, havoc to Mideast, leaving 8 dead

In neighboring Syria, the snowfall that covered Damascus in white on Wednesday sparked an overnight outbreak of playfulness among Syrians, who momentarily ignored their bloody civil war and forgot their affiliations as dissidents, loyalists and even soldiers.

"Last night, for the first time in months, I heard laughter instead of shelling. Even the security forces put down their guns and helped us make a snowman," Iman, a resident of the central Shaalan neighborhood, said by Skype on Thursday. 

-- Reuters, Agence France-Presse

Bernat Armangue / AP

Snow falls as an ultra-orthodox Jewish man prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on Jan. 10, 2013. Stormy weather conditions continued on Thursday with snow, torrential rains and strong winds across the region.

Majdi Mohammed / AP

Palestinians play in the snow next to a section of Israel's separation barrier in Qalandia, between Jerusalem and the West bank city of Ramallah, on Jan. 10, 2013.

Ahmad Gharabli / AFP - Getty Images

A man takes pictures of the snow-covered Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem on Jan. 10, 2013.

Avi Ohayon / Israeli Government Press Office via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys the snow with his family on Jan. 10, 2013 in Jerusalem.

Bernat Armangue / AP

A man walks through tombs covered by snow on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on Jan. 10, 2013.

Jim Hollander / EPA

Palestinian girls play in the snow on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem on Jan. 10, 2013.

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Slideshow: Winter's frozen splendor

AFP - Getty Images

Ice and snow changes our environment, as winter engulfs our world.

Launch slideshow

Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

The city of Istanbul is covered with snow on Jan. 9, after a storm blanketed Turkey's commercial hub, a city of 15 million, paralyzing daily life, disrupting air traffic and land transport.

Ammar Awad / Reuters

Palestinians play with snow during a snow storm in the West Bank village of Halhul near Hebron on Jan. 9. At least 8 people have died due to a winter storm in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Meteorological agencies in Israel and Lebanon both called it the worst storm in 20 years.

Reuters

A man walks on snow after a heavy snowstorm in the desert near Tabuk, 932 miles from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Jan. 9.

By Barbara Surk, Jamal Halaby, The Associated Press -- The fiercest winter storm to hit the Mideast in years brought a rare foot of snow to Jordan on Wednesday, caused fatal accidents in Lebanon and the West Bank, and disrupted traffic on the Suez Canal in Egypt. At least eight people died across the region.

In Lebanon, the Red Cross said storm-related accidents killed six people over the past two days. Several drowned after slipping into rivers from flooded roads, one person froze to death and another died after his car went off a slippery road, according to George Kettaneh, Operations Director for the Lebanese Red Cross.

The unusual weather over the past few days hit vulnerable Syrian refugees living in tent camps very hard, particularly some 50,000 sheltering in the Zaatari camp in Jordan's northern desert. Torrential rains over four days have flooded some 200 tents and forced women and infants to evacuate in temperatures that dipped below freezing at night, whipping wind and lashing rain.

"It's been freezing cold and constant rain for the past four days," lamented Ahmad Tobara, 44, who evacuated his tent when its shafts submerged in flood water in Zaatari. A camp spokesman said that by Wednesday, some 1,500 refugees had been displaced within the camp and were now living in mobile homes normally used for schools.

Read the full story.

AFP - Getty Images

A visitor climbs the steps of Baalbek's Bachus temple as snow covers the Roman ruins of the historic town in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Jan. 9, following a fierce storm which has whipped the region this week with temperatures dropping dramatically and snow falling on across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel.

Said Khatib / AFP - Getty Images

A Palestinian man uses his donkey cart to transport people across a flooded street in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 9.

Afif Diab / Reuters

Syrian refugees play with snow outside their tents during a winter storm in al-Marj, in the Bekaa valley on Jan. 9. The worst winter storm in two decades has hit the eastern Mediterranean this week, bringing destruction and death to Syria and its neighbors who are already dealing with a refugee crisis from the country's civil war.

Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

A seagull stands on Galata Tower on Jan. 9. Heavy snowfall blanketed Turkey's commercial hub Istanbul, a city of 15 millions, paralyzing daily life, disrupting air traffic and land transport.

As "tornadoes of fire" roared toward their home, the Holmes family fled and then jumped into the sea, clinging to a jetty for three hours to escape wildfires that have devastated Australia.

The blaze spread swiftly in the Tasmanian town of Dunalley, Tim Holmes said. "The next thing we knew everything was on fire, everywhere, all around us," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Holmes said he sent his wife Tammy and their five grandchildren -- who are aged between almost 2 and 11 --  to the jetty to seek refuge from the flames, which destroyed three homes owned by the family. "There was no other escape," he added.

Holmes sent a text message to his daughter, Bonnie Walker,  showing her children in the water.

"It's still quite an upsetting image," Walker told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "It's of all of my five children underneath the jetty, huddled up to neck deep sea water, which is cold. I knew that that would be a challenge to keep three non-swimmers above water and with only my mom, dad and our eldest daughter.

Read more on this story from Britain's ITV News

"I spent a lot of time with good friends and prayed like I never prayed before and I think those prayers have been answered."

Australia's record-breaking heatwave has sent temperatures soaring, melting road tar and setting off hundreds of wildfires - as well as searing new colors onto weather maps.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has added dark purple and magenta to its weather forecasting map to represent temperatures of 51 to 54 degrees Celsius (123.8 to 129.2 Fahrenheit), officials said.

PhotoBlog: Heat, high wind create 'catastrophic' fire condition in Australia

Temperatures on the map were previously capped at 50 degrees Celsius, represented by the color black.

Tim Holmes / AP

Tammy Holmes and her grandchildren take refuge under a jetty as a wildfire rages nearby in Dunalley, Australia, on Friday.

No deaths have been reported, although around 100 people haven't been accounted for since last week when a fire destroyed around 90 homes in Dunalley, which is located east of the state capital of Hobart. On Wednesday, police spokeswoman Lisa Stingel said it's likely most of those people simply haven't checked in with officials.

Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Fires in February 2009 killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.

ITV News is NBC News' UK partner. Reuters contributed to this report.

Firefighters battled scores of wildfires raging across southeast Australia on Tuesday as authorities evacuated national parks and warned that record-level, blistering temperatures and high winds had led to "catastrophic" conditions in some areas.

"We are shaping up for one of the worst fire danger days on record," New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said. "You don't get conditions worse than this. We are at the catastrophic level and clearly in those areas leaving early is your safest option."

Catastrophic threat level is the most severe rating applicable.

Firefighters hope cooler weather sweeping up the Australian east coast late Tuesday, which dramatically dropped temperatures in a matter of hours in some coastal towns, would ease the incendiary conditions. Monday was the hottest day on record for Australia, with the average temperature across the continent reaching 104.6 degrees F., Australia's 7 News network reported.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the unprecedented temperatures left weather forecasters having to add new colors - deep purple and pink - to their charts.

No deaths had been reported, although officials in Tasmania were still trying to find about 100 residents who had been missing since a fire tore through the small town of Dunalley, east of the state capital of Hobart, last week, destroying around 90 homes. On Tuesday, police said no bodies were found during preliminary checks of the ruined houses.

Australia faces 'catastrophic' days

Wildfires have razed 50,000 acres of forests and farmland across southern Tasmania since Friday. In New South Wales, the country's most populous state, the fires had burned through more than 64,000 acres of land.

More than 130 fires were blazing across New South Wales, though only a few dozen houses were under threat by early evening. One fire was threatening about 30 homes near the small town of Cooma, south of the capital of Canberra. Cooma-Monaro shire mayor Dean Lynch told Australia's Sky News some residents had evacuated to the nearby town of Nimmitabel.

Strong winds were hampering efforts to bring the fires under control. Wind gusts more than 60 mph were recorded in some parts of the state.

PhotoBlog: Wildfires in Tasmania

Arsonists have been responsible for some of the fires, 7 News reported. In western Sydney on Tuesday, three people were charged with deliberately starting a fire, the network said.

All state forests and national parks were closed as a precaution and total fire bans were in place with temperatures surpassing 113 degrees F. in some areas.

One volunteer firefighter suffered severe burns to his hands and face while fighting a grass fire near Gundaroo village, about 140 miles southwest of Sydney, on Monday. He was flown to a hospital in Sydney for treatment, and his condition had improved Tuesday, Fitzsimmons said.

More coverage from 7 News

Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. In February 2009, hundreds of fires across Victoria state killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

The Associated Press, Reuters and 7 News contributed to this report; 7 News is NBC's Australian partner.

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AP

In this Dec. 29, 2012 photo, a worker looks through a snow-covered bus window while on his way to inspect electric power transmission lines after heavy snow in Huaibei, in central China's Anhui province. China Meteorological Administration says the country's average temperature has hit the lowest in 28 years this winter, as snow and ice throughout China have closed highways, canceled flights and stranded travelers. The figures released by the administration on Friday, Jan. 4, 2013 show the national average was -3.8 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit) since late November.

Temperatures in China have plunged to their lowest in almost three decades, cold enough to freeze coastal waters and trap 1,000 ships in ice, official media said at the weekend.

Since late November the country has shivered at an average of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit), 1.3 degrees colder than the previous average, and the chilliest in 28 years, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, citing the China Meteorological Administration.

Bitter cold has even frozen the sea in Laizhou Bay on the coast of Shandong province in the east, stranding nearly 1,000 ships, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Zheng Dong, chief meteorologist at the Yantai Marine Environment Monitoring Center under the State Oceanic Administration, told the paper that the area under ice in Laizhou Bay was 291 square km this week.

Transport around the country has been severely disrupted.

More than 140 flights from the state capital airport in central Hunan province were delayed, while heavy snowfall forced the closure of some sections of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway, the China Daily said.

Temperatures in the northeast fell even further, reaching a 43-year low of minus 15.3 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit), about 3.7 degrees below the previous recorded average.

One truck driver in southeastern Jiangxi province, caught in a 5 km (3.1 miles) queue caused by a pileup that happened after heavy snowfall, told China Daily the snow and extreme cold had caught him unawares.

"I didn't expect such a situation, so I've brought no warm coats or food. All I can do now is wait," trucker Yao Xuefeng told the paper.

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