A magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred at 3:48pm today (7 April) near the border between Hela and Western provinces.
Residents in Ialibu and Hela have confirmed that the quake had been a strong one, lasting for almost 10 seconds.
The Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory (PMGO) says the epicentre was about 45km West of Tari.
Details are:
Time: 3.48 pm
Location: 5.8 ° S, 142.5 ° E
Depth: 10km
Mag: 6.3
“The earthquake occurred as a result of fault movements in the Papuan Fold and Thrust Belt, which runs parallel to the axial mountain range of PNG,” reports the PMGO.
“There is potential for damage from this earthquake because of weakening of structures due to strong shaking from previous earthquakes in the region.”
However, there is no possibility that this earthquake would generate a tsunami.
The Rabaul Volcanological Observatory has also reported another quake near Pomio, East New Britain, around 3pm today.