Large earthquake strikes near Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands

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:

1. 55km (34mi) SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
2. 281km (175mi) ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
3. 310km (193mi) SE of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
4. 367km (228mi) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
5. 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.