A powerful magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck deep under Papua New Guinea on Sunday at a depth of 167 kilometers (103 miles) beneath the eastern province of Bougainville. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert for nearby islands but fortunately nothing occurred hours after. No casualties were reported but there was damage in parts of central Bougainville and the major town of Arawa.
The provincial capital of Buka was blacked out and residents of the southern town of Buin were moved to higher ground as a precaution against a potential tsunami. Solomons government official George Herming said he was not aware of any major tremors being felt in his country or any tsunami. Jennifer El-Sibai, Save the Children’s Country director in Papua New Guinea, said that national and provincial disaster authorities were monitoring the tsunami situation and Save the Children staff were ready to respond if required. Solomon Islands, located in the Pacific’s geologically active “Ring of Fire.,” had 6 earthquakes in the past 7 days, 15 earthquakes in the past 30 days and 157 earthquakes in the past 365 days.
