Powerful earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued

A FORCEFUL earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea, generating a small tsunami and knocking out power in parts of the Pacific island nation.

A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Picture: Earthquake-report.com

A POWERFUL earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea on Saturday, generating a small tsunami and knocking out power in parts of the Pacific island nation.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The magnitude-7.9 quake struck 46 kilometres east of Taron in Papua New Guinea, the US Geological Survey said. The quake was deep, at 103 kilometres. Deeper earthquakes tend to cause less damage than shallow ones.

The USGS initially said the quake’s magnitude was 8.0, but later downgraded the strength.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a threat of a tsunami in Papua New Guinea and nearby areas.

It said tsunami waves reaching 1 to 3 metres high were possible along the coasts of Papua New Guinea, while waves in other areas, including the Solomon Islands, would likely be less than 0.3 metre high.

A tsunami measuring less than 1 metre hit the coast of the island of New Ireland shortly after the earthquake, said Felix Taranu, seismologist with the Geophysical Observatory in the capital, Port Moresby.

There were no immediate reports of damage from the tsunami or the quake, though officials were still working to contact people on the island, he said.

The quake knocked items off shelves and caused a blackout in the town of Kokopo in northeastern Papua New Guinea, Taranu said. But there were no reports of widespread damage in the town.

Papua New Guinea sits on the Ring of Fire, the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes are common.

A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea, with a tsunami warning issued. Picture: Supplied

The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management also issued an official tsunami warning for New Zealand, before later tweeting there was “no threat” to the country, and cancelling the warning.

According to the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre there is no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories.

However, hazardous tsunami waves could hit coastal areas of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Nauru and other islands in the three hours following the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

The quake knocked items off shelves and caused a blackout in the town of Kokopo in northeastern Papua New Guinea, Taranu said. But there were no reports of widespread damage in the town.

Papua New Guinea sits on the Ring of Fire, the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes are common. It’s a vast area where about 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes occur, according to the USGS.

The ring, which actually is shaped more like a horseshoe, includes more than 400 underwater volcanoes and stretches 400 kilometres from New Zealand, past Japan, across the Bering Strait and down to the tip of South America.