A tsunami warning was issued briefly in Papua New Guinea after a 7.0 earthquake struck the island nation Wednesday, according to US Geological Survey data, followed by a series of smaller tremors of up to 6.2 magnitude. The tsunami warning has been subsequently cancelled, according to a report by Channel News Asia
The epicenter of the earthquake, which happened at 7 a.m. local time (21:00 GMT) Wednesday, was located some 200 kilometers southwest of the town of Rabaul.
"We felt the earthquake a bit, but it was not too strong," a constable at Rabaul's police station told Reuters.
The quake was initially recorded with a magnitude of 7.3 but was subsequently downgraded to 7.0.
Hazardous tsunamis were forecast for some coasts, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, according to an AFP report.
Earlier in September, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia, causing a massive tsunami that ravaged the city of Palu, killing almost 1,000 people.
