Earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea, tsunami alert issued

Xinhua, March 30, 2015

Papua New Guinea was rocked by a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 on Monday and authorities have issued a tsunami warning for nearby areas.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the town of Rabaul in the north east of PNG was the epicenter of the quake.

"Hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1000 km of the earthquake epicenter along the coasts of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said.