Powerful earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea, triggers tsunami alert

Sydney

A POWERFUL 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Sunday, shaking homes and sparking a tsunami alert, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

The tsunami warning for the Pacific island nation and its neighbours was later cancelled.

The tremor struck 40 kilometres west of Panguna on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island at a depth of 153 kilometres at 3:30 pm local time (0430 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

No reports of damage or injuries have emerged so far, said the PNG Geophysical…