Strong Magnitude 6.5 Earthquake Rattles Papua New Guinea

A map showing the location of a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit the island of New Britain on April 15, 2024. USGS/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has rattled Papua New Guinea (PNG) early on April 15 on the island of New Britain.

This comes after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the region in March, killing five people and demolishing 1,000 homes.

An earthquake notice on the U.S. Department of Commerce website notes the depth of the earthquake was 50 miles and it took place at 6.56 a.m. local time on April 15.

While there are no major reports of any damage or death at this stage, it is still early days, with the earthquake striking less than a few hours ago at the time of writing.

At this stage, there are no reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey states the earthquake epicentre was 110 kilometres east to south east of Kimbe, within PNG.

Multiple authorities including Australia, the U.S., and Philippines have issued notices stating there is no tsunami threat.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a notice stating there is no tsunami threat to Australia.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System says there is no active tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Governor of Hawaii also issued a statement to X informing Hawaii residents there were no local tsunami threats.

“An earthquake has occurred with these preliminary parameters. New Britain region Papua New Guinea, magnitude 6.5.

“Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific Wide Tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii.”

Recent Earthquake Rocked PNG in March

In late March, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the remote East Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, killing multiple people and damaging homes.

At the time, East Sepik Province Governor Allan Bird posted on Facebook that the earthquake had destroyed 1,000 homes in an area already dealing with widespread flooding.

“The flooding actually covers an area more than 800 kilometers long, and so there’s about maybe 60 or 70 villages involved all along the Sepik River,” Mr. Bird said.

“The floods weren’t their biggest problem. They were confidently dealing with that because it’s something they’re used to.

“It was the earthquake that no one was prepared for. That would have caused the most significant damage now.”

The PNG region has been a hot spot for earthquakes in recent times, including multiple earthquakes in 2023. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake left multiple people dead in the northern part of the country in April.

Further, a 7.6 magnitude quake rocked the eastern part of PNG in September 2022, killing multiple people and damaging property. Moderate to severe shaking was felt for more than a minute 480 kilometres south of Port Moresby.