A tsunami warning has been issued for Papua New Guinea after a powerful magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook the Pacific island nation, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The USGS issued the warning for waves of up to 10 feet (3 meters) along some parts of the Papua New Guinea coastline after the temblor. A caution about far smaller waves was issued for the nearby Solomon Islands.
The quake was shallow, striking the Pacific island nation at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers) at 6 a.m. Saturday morning local time. It was centered offshore, 120 miles (194 kilometers) east of the town of Kimbe on the island of New Britain.
There were no immediate reports of damage. Just over 500,000 people live on the island of New Britain.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to the country, which is Papua New Guinea’s closest neighbor. No warning was issued for Australia’s neighbor, New Zealand.
Papua New Guinea is located on the Pacific’s notorious “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where much of the world’s earthquake and volcanic activity occurs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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