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PORT MORESBY, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A warning for “hazardous tsunami waves” was issued briefly for coastal regions within 300 kilometres of Wau in Papua New Guinea after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck the region, the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says.
The quake struck about 12:50pm (local time) at a depth of 85km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), and struck offshore 18km (11 miles) east-southeast of Wau, north of the capital Port Moresby.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre initially issued a tsunami warning but said about an hour later the danger had passed.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which was initially recorded at 7.3 but later adjusted, and the PNG National Disaster Centre declined to comment until it had received a briefing.
Wau is an inland former gold mining town with a population of about 5,000, about 150km south-west of PNG’s second-largest city, Lae.
A person who answered the phone at the Lae City Hotel said they had felt the quake but there was no property damage.
“It’s normal, the earthquake, here. The staff is okay. They just kept on going,” the person said.
The hotel was fully booked but all the guests were out at the time of the quake, the person added. — NNN-AGENCIES
