Papua New Guinea earthquake: An earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hit Papua New Guinea on Saturday morning (local time), prompting a Tsunami warning, which was later cancelled, according to the US Geological Survey. The shallow quake hit the Pacific island nation at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles). It was centered offshore, 194 km (120 miles) east of the town of Kimbe, on the island of New Britain.
Tsunami warning issued, later cancelled
While a tsunami warning was issued immediately after the tremor was felt, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre later called off the alert. Earlier, the quake was believed to result in waves of 1 to 3 metres along some parts of the Papua New Guinea coastline.
A caution about smaller waves of 0.3 m issued for the nearby Solomon Islands was also called off. No immediate reports of any damage have surfaced.
Notably, just over 500,000 people live on the island of New Britain.
According to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, there was no tsunami threat to the country, which is Papua New Guinea's closest neighbour. No warning was issued for New Zealand.
Papua New Guinea sits on Pacific 'Ring of Fire'
Papua New Guinea is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where much of the world's earthquake and volcanic activity occurs.