Second very strong 7.1 earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

A very strong and shallow earthquake recorded by Geoscience Australia as M7.1 at a depth of 19 km (11.8 miles) hit New Britain, Papua New Guinea at 08:06 UTC on May 1, 2015. USGS is reporting this quake as M6.8 (lowered from initial M7.1) at a depth of 57.0 km (35.4 miles). This is the second very strong quake in this area within 24 hours.

According to the USGS, epicenter was located 106 km (66 miles) SSW of Kokopo, 187 km (116 miles) ENE of Kimbe, 310 km (193 miles) SSE of Kavieng, and 428 km (266 miles) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea.

There are 104 083 people living within 100 km radius.

Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 km of the earthquake epicenter, PTWC said in their notice issued 08:13 UTC, the Watcher reported.

Their final tsunami threat message issued at 08:48 UTC said that based on all data available to the center, the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now mostly passed. Any remaining threat should be evaluated by local authorities in impacted areas. Additional note in this message said that based on the CMT solution the magnitude has decreased from initial estimate [M7.1 to M6.8] and forecast model simulation show no significant tsunami threat from this event.

USGS issued green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.