Major earthquake rattles Papua New Guinea

  • 22/01/2017
generic earthquake image (iStock)

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake has struck Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, on Sunday night.

The quake struck around 154km deep at 5:30pm on Sunday (NZ time), according to the US Geological Survey.

It was originally reported as a magnitude 8.0, but has since been revised to 7.9.

It was centred around 47km of Arawa on Bougainville Island, which is located within the Solomon Islands archipelago.

A tsunami warning has been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre for some coasts of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Vanuatu, Chuuk and Indonesia.

No tsunami warning has been issued for Australia or New Zealand, and there have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties. 

Newshub.