Fears after large quake rocks PNG

A 6.8 magnitude quake has struck PNG. Source: The Australian

A STRONG 6.8-magnitude earthquake has rocked Papua New Guinea's north.

Seismologists warn there could be considerable damage in Aitape, where a giant tsunami in 1998 killed more than 2000 people.

The shallow quake, at a depth of just seven kilometres, hit 19km east of the small town of Aitape on the Pacific nation's north coast at 8.55am AEST.

No destructive tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre but it said earthquakes of this size could sometimes generate local tsunami waves within 100km of the epicentre.

"Authorities in the region should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action," it said.

It comes as a 7.8 magnitude quake struck Iran, killing 34 people in neighbouring Pakistan.

Geoscience Australia measured the PNG quake at a depth of 20km and 30km from Aitape and said about 60,000 people would be in the exposure zone.

"This would include outlying local villages," seismologist Steve Tatham told AFP.

"There is the possibility of considerable damage. It certainly could bring buildings down."

A giant tsunami in 1998, with waves up to 10 metres, killed more than 2000 people near Aitape following an earthquake off the coast.

In that disaster, churches, schools and other buildings were swept away.

The PNG Natural Disaster Centre said today it had no concrete information so far. Police, ambulance and church officials in Aitape could not be reached by AFP.

Personnel at Wewak Hospital, about 150km from the coastal epicentre, said they felt the tremor but there was no damage to the building or any immediate reports of damage in the town of Wewak.

Hospital spokesman Morris Iuandu said there had been no news from Aitape and no casualties had presented to the emergency department in Wewak as yet.

"It was a strong one. This is a solid building... and it was shaking," Iuandu told AFP.

He estimated the swaying had lasted at least three minutes.

Quakes of such magnitude are common in impoverished PNG, which sits on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

A 6.6-magnitude quake struck the country's Bougainville Island on Sunday but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

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