A large earthquake has just shaken eastern Papua New Guinea and nearby islands, the U.S. Geological Survey is reporting.
The magnitude 7.5 quake – which is pretty severe as far as earthquakes go – struck around 4:48 PM Pacific Time (2015-03-29 23:48:31).
Not many details are known as this time.
The closet major human settlement is Kokopo. Here’s a list of major cities and their distances from the quake epicenter:
- 55km (34mi) SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
- 281km (175mi) ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
- 310km (193mi) SE of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
- 367km (228mi) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
- 787km (489mi) NE of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami warning for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.