Global General

Strong earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-13 11:33

PORT MORESBY - A strong earthquake hit Papua New Guinea Monday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake at 11:14 am local time (01:14 GMT) was centered about 990 kilometers east of Port Moresby, capital Papua New Guinea. It struck about 114 kilometers deep, making it an earthquake of intermediate depth.

The USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage as a result of the earthquake.

Papua New Guinea is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently.

On December 2, a strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck about 40 kilometers northeast of Kandrian on Papua New Guinea's New Britain. There were no casualties.