6-magnitude quake hits Papua New Guinea: USGS

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.

HT Image

The quake hit the remote New Britain region at a depth of 154 kilometres, 512 kilometres northeast of capital Port Moresby.

Powerful earthquakes are common in impoverished PNG, which sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

A giant tsunami in 1998 killed more than 2,000 people near Aitape, on the country's northwest coast.