16 May 2011

Quake strikes off PNG, local tsunami warning issued

8:32 am on 16 May 2011

A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck beneath the sea off Papua New Guinea on Monday prompting a local tsunami alert.

There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which hit about 04:30 local time, at a depth of 43 kilometres some 120 kilometres west of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100 km of the earthquake epicentre.

But it said there was no risk of a destructive widespread tsunami from the quake, which was also 248 kilometres from Chirovanga in the Solomon Island.