6.3-magnitude earthquake hits Papua New Guinea
SYDNEY, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Monday but Australian seismologists said the tremor was unlikely to have caused major damage in the remote area.
Geoscience Australia measured the quake at magnitude 6.3 at 10:50 a.m. (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Monday and said it occurred at a depth of 39 km in the New Ireland region known for earthquake and volcanic activity.
"There would have been plenty of shaking there and there could have been some damage pretty close by, but these northern islands are pretty sparsely populated," Geoscience Australia seismologist Hugh Glanville said.
"Being under 6.5, we don't issue tsunami warnings."
Glanville said there could have been some damage very close by, but no major damage to large population centers.
Papua New Guinea lies on the "Ring of Fire", where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.
A giant tsunami in 1997, caused by an undersea earthquake, killed more than 3,500 people near Aitapi, on the country's northwest coast.
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