Earthquake

 An officer from the Geophysical Observatory office, Matthew Moihoi, confirmed the earthquake took place at 4.15pm today.

The Geophysical Observatory office says there is no tsunami threat from this quake.

This earthquake took place 83km beneath the Arawe Islands of the West New Britain Province in the Western Solomon Sea.

It was caused by interaction between the Solomon Sea and the Bismark tectonic plates and was weakly felt in Port Moresby.

No damage has been reported.

There have been desperate scenes as rescuers and family members searched for survivors, often with bare hands.

Teams from Switzerland, Spain and several Latin American countries have arrived to join the search effort.

More than 2,000 people were injured in the quake, Ecuador's most powerful in decades, which hit its Pacific coast.

Earlier, President Rafael Correa warned that the death toll was likely to rise, and said there were still people alive under the rubble of collapsed buildings. He said it was the biggest tragedy to hit Ecuador in the past seven decades.

A 7.3-magnitude tremor struck early on Saturday morning, killing at least 32 people, injuring about 1,000 more and causing widespread damage to houses, roads and bridges.

It was the second major quake to hit Kumamoto province on the island of Kyushu in just over 24 hours. The first, late on Thursday, killed nine people.

There have been 347 aftershocks of at least level 1 on the Japanese scale since Thursday's shock, broadcaster NHK reported.

Some 20,000 troops are being deployed in the operation in Kyushu region after the magnitude-7.3 quake at 01:25 on Saturday (15:25 GMT Friday).

At least 15 people have been killed and hundreds injured, media reports say.

Dozens of people are feared trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. The quake on Thursday killed nine people.

Roads have been damaged and big landslides have been reported over a wide area. Some 200,000 households are now without power.

Collapsed dam

Three people are reported to have been killed and many more injured in the latest quake, measuring magnitude 7.3, which came just a day after another tremor that claimed nine lives in the same area.

An apartment fire was blamed for at least one of the deaths, as the fresh quake sparked a fresh wave of destruction and injuries.

"We are also checking if any more people failed to escape," city official Kiichiro Terada said, adding that the fire was under control.

Known as MyShake, it can sense an earthquake even when the cell device is being carried in a pocket or a bag.

The researchers want users to download the app, in the first instance, to help test and improve its capabilities.

But ultimately the idea is that recruited phones will be part of a network that not only gathers data but also issues alerts.

Destructive ground motions take time to move out from the epicentre of a large tremor, meaning people at more distant locations could receive several seconds' vital warning on their phones.

Rescue teams have been trying to reach people trapped in rubble since the magnitude 6.4 quake struck just before 04:00 (20:00 GMT Friday).

A baby was among the dead when a high-rise residential block collapsed. At least 155 people were injured.

President Ma Ying-jeou promised an "all-out effort" to rescue people when he arrived in the city.

Shelters would be set up for those who had lost their homes in the city of two million people, he said.

The earthquake has claimed at least 10 lives in Chile.

The French High Commission had warned the people on the Marquesas Islands to prepare for waves of up to 1.4 metres last night.

The Geophysical Laboratory in Tahiti says waves of slightly higher than one metre can be expected in the Marquesas and no higher than 30 centimetres in the most populated parts of the territory.

The French High Commissioner called for people in the Marquesas not to stay on the coast last night and to check moorings.

Tsunami warnings were in place for much of the Pacific following yesterday's massive 8.3 earthquake in Chile.

The earthquake has claimed at least 11 lives in Chile.

The Pacific Tsunami warning Centre has now advised that there is no further tsunami threat for American Samoa as a result of the massive earthquake in Chile.

However residents have been advised to be observant and exercise normal caution if you are in or near the ocean.

The tremor at 2254 UTC was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii says waves of between one and three metres could hit French Polynesia.

Waves of up to a metre are forecast for New Caledonia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Samoas, the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the scattered islands over the north Pacific.

Smaller waves may hit Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Nauru.