A magnitude 7.2 earthquake has rattled the Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea, cutting power and knocking items off shelves though there were no immediate reports of serious damage.
The quake hit around 7:20am Tuesday (21:20 GMT Monday) 33 kilometres southeast of Bulolo, on the country’s eastern side, at a depth of 127km. It was felt in the capital Port Moresby about 250km away.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology says it was felt all the way in far North Queensland.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami threat because the earthquake was so deep.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology says it was felt all the way in far North Queensland.
Social Media Reports:
Video from “Pangia”, Papua New Guinea, showing the shaking from the 7.2 magnitude #earthquake. I got this footage from Facebook. I don’t own this video. pic.twitter.com/SdiKzplzWH
— Mike 🇷🇴 🇺🇦 (@MambaMike13) May 6, 2019
The PNG Power Ltd has issued a statement saying several of its power plants in the area of Ramu and Baiune had been knocked offline due to moving machinery, minor damage to power houses and damaged transformers.
The USGS automated assessment predicts a 65 per cent chance of zero fatalities, and just 4 per cent odds for there being up to one hundred. Economic losses are expected to be minimal.
But a similar 7.5 earthquake last year buried homes under landslides, killing some 125 people. It took several days for news of the tragedy to trickle out of PNG’s remote countryside.
via Al Jazeera/ Facebook / Twitter / Courier Mail
