Papua New Guinea jolted by 6.7 quake

Oct 14, 2011 |

Sydney

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The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea was jolted by a 6.7-magnitude undersea earthquake on Friday, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at a depth of 45 kilometres (28 miles), 103 kilometres east of the mountain city of Lae and 326 kilometres north of the capital Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea, mired in poverty despite rich mineral deposits, sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

A giant tsunami in 1998, caused by an undersea earthquake or a landslide, killed more than 2,000 people near Aitape, on the country's northwest coast.

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