An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale struck the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea in the early hours of Saturday, April 5. According to the National Seismological Centre (NCS), a tremor was felt around 1.34 am IST at a depth of 10 kilometres, with the epicentre located at latitude 6.23° South and longitude 151.64° East.
"EQ of M: 6.9, On: 05/04/2025 01:34:43 IST, Lat: 6.23 S, Long: 151.64 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: New Britain Region P.N.G.," NCS said in a post on X.
According to an advisory from the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, it was forecasted to produce tsunami waves of one to three metres. Mini waves of less than 0.3 metres were also forecast for some parts of the neighbouring Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands.
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There were no immediate reports of damage. Just over 500,000 people live on the island of New Britain. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to the country, which is Papua New Guinea’s closest neighbor. No warning was issued for New Zealand.