Major earthquake strikes near Papua New Guinea
A tsunami warning has been issued for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, after a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck off Papua New Guinea, according to official monitors.
The epicentre of the quake, first reported as 7.7, was near the town of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, which is 787km north-east of the capital Port Moresby, the Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The earthquake was originally reported to have hit a depth of 65km, but this was revised to 40km.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said "hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000 kilometres of the earthquake epicentre along the coasts of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands".
Potential for dangerous #tsunami within 1000 km of the 7.6 magnitude #earthquake in Papua New Guinea. #PTWC http://t.co/fYgZxXCqz0
— NWS PTWC (@NWS_PTWC) March 30, 2015
No destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami is expected, it said.
In its latest update, the PTWC said waves between one and three metres are possible in Papua New Guinea.
UPDATE: #tsunami waves forecast between 1 and 3 meters in Papua New Guinea, less elsewhere. #PTWC http://t.co/ewCOyYtvrV
— NWS PTWC (@NWS_PTWC) March 30, 2015
As a tsunami is comprised of a series of waves, the time between waves can vary from five minutes to an hour.
Tsunami waves are predicted to be above 0.3 metres at Woodlark Island and Kavieng.
UPDATE 2: #tsunami threat remains for Papua New Guinea. No threat for anywhere else. #PTWC. http://t.co/QywNLqhuAM
— NWS PTWC (@NWS_PTWC) March 30, 2015
The waves are forecast to be less than 30 centimetres above the tide level for the coast of Australia.
More information about the earthquake from the the U.S. Geological Survey.
PTWC: Hazardous #tsunami waves from M7.6 #quake possible within 1000km of epicenter along PNG, Soloman Is. coasts pic.twitter.com/8dhvBUGsdG
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) March 30, 2015
Morning news break – March 30
