A strong earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hit Saturday morning on the coast of the island of New Brittany of Papua New Guinea, said the United States Geological Service (USGS).
It is forecast that the shallow earthquake, at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) would produce waves of tsunami from one to three meters, according to a warning of the Tsunami warning center of the US Pacific.
Smaller waves of less than 0.3 meters were also forecast for some parts of the neighboring islands of the Pacific Solomon nation.
The earthquake hit at 6:04 am local time (2004 GMT) and focused about 194 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of the closest main city Kimbe.
A much smaller earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, occurred in almost the same place approximately 30 minutes later, according to the USGS.
The earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which is located in the upper “ring of fire”, an arc of intense tectonic activity that extends through Southeast Asia and through the Pacific basin.
Although they rarely cause generalized damage in scarcely populated areas, they can trigger destructive landslides. The earthquake hit at 6:04 am local time (2004 GMT) and focused about 194 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of the closest main city.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a union feed).
