Earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 7 earthquake shook Papua New Guinea today, US Geological Survey said

A magnitude 7 earthquake shook Papua New Guinea today, US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage and no risk of a significant tsunami in the South Pacific's most populous island nation.

The agency said in a statement that the quake struck near the island province of New Britain 566 km northeast of the national capital Port Moresby.

David Walsh, an oceanographer at the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, said there was no risk of a significant tsunami, possibly because the quake was 54 km below the Earth's crust.

Papua New Guinea lies on the 'Ring of Fire' -an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 per cent of the world's quakes occur.

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AP