Magnitude 7.5 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea

SYDNEY, Australia – The quake hit 75 kilometers south-west of the town of Panguna on Bougainville island, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, and came after a 6.6-magnitude tremor earlier Saturday.

A tsunami warning was issued for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, adding that it was “not known that a tsunami was generated”.

The quake struck at a depth of 30 kilometers just before 11:30 pm, USGS said. It reported another 5.6-magnitude quake had happened around 20 minutes later in the same area at a depth of 69 kilometers.

A 6.6-magnitude quake occurred in the same area on Saturday morning, USGS reported earlier.

Quakes of such magnitude are common in PNG, which sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.  

Last year in February, the remote town of Lata in the Solomons was hit by a devastating tsunami after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake. The tsunami left at least 10 people dead, destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands of people homeless. – Rappler.com