Magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes off Papua New Guinea coast: USGS

• A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea’s coast, according to the United States Geological Survey.
• The US Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for waves up to three metres high, but that threat has now passed.
• The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10km, with a smaller 5.3 quake following shortly after.

A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Saturday morning off the coast of Papua New Guinea’s New Britain Island, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The shallow quake, at a depth of 10km, was forecast to produce tsunami waves of one to three metres, according to an advisory from the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea coast on Saturday morning NZ time. Photo / USGS

Smaller waves of less than 0.3m were also forecast for some parts of neighbouring Pacific nation Solomon Islands.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to Australia from the quake.

In an update just before midday, the US Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami had now passed.

It said while there were no sea level gauges in the immediate vicinity of the epicentre, no tsunami was observed at the closest sea level gauge.

The update was the final statement it would be issuing on the quake and its potential impacts.

No #tsunami threat to Australia from magnitude 7.0 #earthquake near NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Latest advice at https://t.co/Tynv3ZQpEq. pic.twitter.com/jhKXjontmC

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) April 4, 2025

The earthquake struck at 6:04 am local time and was centred about 194km southeast of the nearest major town Kimbe.

A much smaller quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, occurred in nearly the same location about 30 minutes later, according to the USGS.

Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on top of the seismic “Ring of Fire” - an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Although they seldom cause widespread damage in sparsely populated areas, they can trigger destructive landslides.

The last major earthquake in Papua New Guinea occurred in March last year and killed five people. That earthquake, in the East Sepik region on the main land mass of Papua New Guinea, was magnitude 6.9 and just over 40 kilometres deep.

- Agence France-Presse with additional reporting by The New Zealand Herald