A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea Monday, US seismologists said, with “hazardous” tsunami waves possible within 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) of the epicentre.
The quake hit at a depth of 65 kilometres, some 54 kilometres from the nearest city of Kokopo on New Britain island and 789 kilometres from the capital Port Moresby, the United States Geological Survey said.
“Based on preliminary earthquake parameters... hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000 kilometres of the earthquake epicentre,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
The tsunami risk was expected to be limited to PNG and the Solomon Islands.
The initial quake was followed by a smaller 5.7-magnitude aftershock in the same area.
Geoscience Australia seismologist Jonathan Bathgate said there was a possibility of a local tsunami but based on the magnitude of the quake it was likely to be on the lower end of the scale.