A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 7.5 struck Papua New Guinea today, triggering a tsunami alert for coastal areas up to 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away.
The 7.5 magnitude quake struck 45km northeast of Kokopo, the provincial capital of the Papuan island of East New Britain, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
It was reported at 10.58pm local time (12.58pm GMT), at a relatively shallow depth of 10km, the USGS said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said hazardous tsunami waves were possible within 1,000 km of the quake's epicentre along the coasts of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, before later saying the threat had passed.
Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage on the Earth's surface. However, there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the area.
The USGS estimated damage and injuries would be low because of the sparse population.
It comes just over a year after a tremor of the same magnitude killed at least 125 people 900 km further west of the region, and forced another 35,000 from their homes.
