A tsunami warning was issued for Papua and the Solomon Islands by the
Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, but it later cancelled the
alert.
The quake struck 75 kilometres (47 miles) southwest of the town of Panguna on
Bougainville island at a depth of 30 kilometres just before 11:30 pm (1330 GMT),
USGS said.
The seismologists said another 5.6-magnitude quake hit the same area around
20 minutes later at a depth of 69 kilometres.
Earlier Saturday, USGS reported that a 6.6-magnitude tremor had occurred in
the same area.
Quakes of such magnitude are common in Papua, which sits on the so-called
Pacific "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between
tectonic plates.
- Last year in February the remote town of Lata in the Solomons was hit by a devastating tsunami after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake. The tsunami left at least 10 people dead, destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands of people homeless.
Source: Agency
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