Earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

A powerful earthquake shook Papua New Guinea today, the US Geological Survey said.

There were no immediate indications of whether it caused any damage or injuries.

The quake had an initial magnitude of 6.8 and struck at 12.20am local time (2.20pm Irish time) in the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea, USGS said.

Its centre was estimated to have been at a depth of six miles, it said.

The region is about 1,440 miles north of Brisbane, Australia.

A disaster official in the capital, Port Moresby, said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

An official at Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Management Office, who declined to be named, said he was trying to contact officials in the region but so far had spoken only to a police officer on the northern side of New Britain island who said there was no damage there.

However, he said the quake hit offshore on the southern side of the island and he had yet to make contact with authorities there.

James Luga, a police officer in Kimbe, a town of 10,000 people, 155 miles east-southeast of the epicentre, said the quake had caused no damage in the town.