Strong quake strikes west of Panguna

 A STRONG 6.7-magnitude earthquake has struck off Papua New Guinea, according to the US Geological Survey.

But a tsunami warning was not issued.

The quake hit 98km west of Panguna, on Bougainville Island, at a depth of 7km, the survey said.

“A destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, said.

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

Geoscience Australia measured the quake at a depth of 35km and said people on Bougainville would have felt it.

“It was a fair way out to sea but people would have got a pretty decent shake on the island,” Geoscience seismologist Dave Jepsen told AFP.

“We are not expecting much damage. These sorts of quakes are frequent occurrences in the region so people tend to be used to them and houses built to withstand them.”

In 1998, a giant tsunami triggered by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,000 people near Aitape, on PNG’s northwest coast. – AFP