Pacific quake sparks tsunami fears

A powerful earthquake rattled the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea, generating a small tsunami and frightening people near the epicentre, but prompting no reports of damage or injuries.

A tsunami of half a metre (1.5ft) was measured in the harbour of Rabaul, a town near the epicentre of the magnitude-7.7 earthquake, said Martin Mose, acting director for Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Centre. The quake struck at a depth of 40 miles, about 30 miles south east of the town of Kokopo in north-eastern Papua New Guinea, the US Geological Survey said.