Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea): A strong
earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck off Papua New
Guinea's island of Bougainville on Saturday but there were no
immediate reports of any damage, seismologists said.
The tremor, which struck at 11:42 am local time (0142
GMT), was about 80 kilometres west of Arawa city at a depth of
65 kilometres, according the US Geological Survey.
"At this stage we have not received any reports of any
damage," a spokesman for PNG's national earthquakes centre
told.
"We have not had any report of such activity as a
tsunami, but normally (with) earthquakes of about 6.2 we
rarely anticipate tsunamis along our coastline," he added.
Papua New Guinea sits on the so-called Pacific "Ring
of Fire", where continental plates meet. The region is
frequently hit by earthquakes.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, July 25, 2009, 14:46