Tsunami alert after 6.5 quake off PNG

Updated May 16, 2011 06:27:00

A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck beneath the sea off Papua New Guinea, US seismologists say, prompting a local tsunami alert.

According to the United States Geological Survey, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which hit at 4:37am (local time) at a depth of 43 kilometres, 120 kilometres west of the island of Bougainville.

"Earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100km of the earthquake epicentre," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, based in Hawaii, said in a statement.

But the centre says there is no risk of a destructive widespread tsunami from the quake.

It says Papua New Guinea sits on the so-called Pacific ring of fire, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

A giant tsunami in 1997, caused by an undersea earthquake or a landslide, killed more than 3,500 people near Aitapi on the north-west coast of mainland Papua New Guinea.

In 2007, a tsunami following an 8.1-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomon Islands and left thousands homeless.

- AFP

Tags: disasters-and-accidents, earthquake, papua-new-guinea, bougainville

First posted May 16, 2011 05:27:00

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Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/16/3217393.htm

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