A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hits off the coast of eastern Papua New Guinea, damaging buildings and causing panic among residents.
On Sunday morning, the quake struck at a depth of 61 kilometers (38 miles), about 67 kilometers (41 miles) from the eastern town of Kainantu, according to the US Geological Survey.
It issued a tsunami warning but later stated that the threat “has now passed.” However, it did state that “minor sea level fluctuations in some coastal areas” could still occur.
There were no reports of casualties at the time.
Residents in Papua New Guinea took to social media to share photos and videos of cracked roads, damaged buildings and cars, and items falling off supermarket shelves.
Damage to a university in the eastern highland town of Goroka was captured on video, with large cracks appearing in walls and window awnings falling during the earthquake.
Locals in Lae and Madang, which are closest to the epicentre, told AFP that the shaking was much stronger than in previous quakes.”It was like sitting on a sea – just floating,” Hivi Apokore, a worker at the Jais Aben Resort near Madang, said.
Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which is located on the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” a hotspot for seismic activity caused by tectonic plate friction.
