6.3 magnitude quake strikes Papua New Guinea

April 18, 2010 A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Papua New Guinea at 9:15 AM local time on Sunday morning (23:15 Saturday UTC). The epicentre was 30 kilometers east of Lae, and 300 kilometers north of Port Moresby the capital of Papua New Guinea. The quake had a depth of 66.2 kilometers (41.1 miles).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has not issued any alerts related to the quake, and so far no injuries have been reported. Papua New Guinea National Disaster Centre officials in Lae told Reuters that while they were unaware of any buildings collapsing, the people of Lae did feel the quake.

Papua New Guinea is commonly hit by volcanic activity, earthquakes and tidal waves. Almost 3 years ago to this date, an earthquake with the same magnitude hit the area. On that occurrence no casualties were reported either. 