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No damage expected from 6.8-magnitude earthquake in PNG: Geoscience Australia

Xinhua, October 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Papua New Guinea shook to a 6.8-magnitude earthquake late Monday, however there was no tsunami alert and authorities were not expecting any damage.

Monday's quake makes the 27th earthquake above magnitude 6 in the region over the past 100 years, becoming the fifth largest on record following a 6.9-magnitude quake that struck in 2010. Like the 2010 quake authorities aren't expecting any damage due to its location.

"It's very very remote," Geoscience Australia senior duty seismologist Dan Jaksa told Xinhua.

"There's a little settlement that's (approximately) 50 kilometers away, (but) there's next to nothing there at all except trees."

Monday's earthquake is the sixth in the region recently, which Jaksa said is understandable given the region is the most seismically active in the world.

Geoscience Australia measured the earthquake at magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale. Endit