A magnitude-7.5 earthquake has struck Papua New Guinea's southern highlands.
The quake hit in the early hours of this morning at a depth of 35 kilometres.
The epicentre was about 96 kilometres south-west of Mendi, the capital of Southern Highlands province, a town of more than 50,000 people.
It is not clear yet if there are any casualties, but Don Blakeman from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said significant damage was likely.
"Any geologic situation like steep valleys or any type of construction, [like] buildings, mines, that sort of thing, since this is a shallow earthquake it shakes all of that a lot more," he told the ABC.
"Landslides are a lot more common and should be expected."
The Geological Survey said there was no danger of a tsunami.
ABC
