A major 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Sunday Jan 22,2017, the US Geological Survey said, but a tsunami alert intially issued for the Pacific island nation and its neighbours was later cancelled.
The tremor struck 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Panguna on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville Island at a depth of 153 kilometres at 3:30pm local time (0430 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that waves of between 0.3 and one metre (1-3 feet) above tide level were possible for some coastal areas of Papua New Guinea and the neighbouring Solomon Islands.
Smaller waves were possible for other nearby countries, it added.
Quakes of such magnitude are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.
"Even though it is quite deep at 150 kilometres, because it is such a large earthquake, it will produce shaking on the surface," Geoscience Australia seismologist Spiro Spiliopoulos told AFP.
There were no reports of damage from the epicentre of the quake, which is sparsely populated, officials said.
Australia and New Zealand both said they had assessed the threat and there was no danger to their coastlines.
The tremor struck 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Panguna on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville Island at a depth of 153 kilometres at 3:30pm local time (0430 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that waves of between 0.3 and one metre (1-3 feet) above tide level were possible for some coastal areas of Papua New Guinea and the neighbouring Solomon Islands.
Quakes of such magnitude are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.
There were no reports of damage from the epicentre of the quake, which is sparsely populated, officials said.
Australia and New Zealand both said they had assessed the threat and there was no danger to their coastlines.
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