A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has rattled Papua New Guinea (PNG) early on April 15 on the island of New Britain.
This comes after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the region in March, killing five people and demolishing 1,000 homes.
While there are no major reports of any damage or death at this stage, it is still early days, with the earthquake striking less than a few hours ago at the time of writing.
At this stage, there are no reports of damage.
Multiple authorities including Australia, the U.S., and Philippines have issued notices stating there is no tsunami threat.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a notice stating there is no tsunami threat to Australia.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System says there is no active tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat.
“An earthquake has occurred with these preliminary parameters. New Britain region Papua New Guinea, magnitude 6.5.
“Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific Wide Tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii.”
Recent Earthquake Rocked PNG in March
In late March, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the remote East Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, killing multiple people and damaging homes.At the time, East Sepik Province Governor Allan Bird posted on Facebook that the earthquake had destroyed 1,000 homes in an area already dealing with widespread flooding.
“The floods weren’t their biggest problem. They were confidently dealing with that because it’s something they’re used to.
“It was the earthquake that no one was prepared for. That would have caused the most significant damage now.”
The PNG region has been a hot spot for earthquakes in recent times, including multiple earthquakes in 2023. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake left multiple people dead in the northern part of the country in April.
