Papua New Guinea 7.2 magnitude earthquake felt in Australia

The earthquake struck at 7.19am local time on Tuesday, at a depth of 129.6 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Papua New Guinea has been hit by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake which was so powerful it was felt in Australia.

The earthquake struck at 7.19am local time on Tuesday, at a depth of 129.6 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The epicentre of the quake was 33 kilometres north-west of Bulolo, in the Morobe Province.

#06may #07may 2019 Strong earthquake 33km north-west of Bulolo 🇵🇬

Magnitudo M 7.2

Local time 07:19:36 2019-05-07
UTC time 21:19:35 2019-05-06
Location 6.977°S 146.440°E
depth 126.9 km

source: USGS#PapuaNewGuinea #Earthquake #Earthquakes pic.twitter.com/NnlJ18ZJLh

— geocappiello (@geocappiello) May 7, 2019

The Bureau of Meteorology said parts of Far North Queensland, about 600 kilometres away, felt the earthquake on Tuesday morning.

There is no tsunami threat to Australia, due to the depth of the epicentre.

"No tsunami threat to Australia from earthquake felt in Far North Queensland," the Bureau said at about 7.50am.

Bulolo has a population of 16,000 and is located about 256 kilometres north of the capital, Port Moresby.

There are no immediate reports of serious damage but pictures shared online show objects smashed to the ground.

A 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hit Off The Coast of Papua New Guinea This Morning That Was So Powerful it Was Felt in Queensland.
Because of The Depth of The Epicenter, There Was No Tsunami Threat.#Earthquake#PapuaNewGuinea pic.twitter.com/DYqo9qNv2t

— ~Marietta✌ (@_MariettaDavis) May 7, 2019

Mw 7.2, 100 km deep PNG earthquake as seen on a few GeoNet stations in New Zealand. Shown are 45 minutes of vertical component displacement seismograms, the station locations (blue triangles), and epicentre (orange star). pic.twitter.com/B7pYvqv9st

— John Ristau 🇨🇦 🇳🇿 (@SinistralSeismo) May 6, 2019

"You can hear it. Got stuff thrown around in the house and the power is now cut off," one resident tweeted.

The USGS predicts there is a 65 per cent chance of zero fatalities, through their automated assessment of the earthquake.

They are also anticipating limited economic loss.