PAPUA NEW GUINEA– A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the sea off of Papua New Guinea on Saturday night.
The quake struck in the ocean about 45 kilometers east of Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland island, also known as Latangai, at about 8:51 p.m. (5:51 a.m. ET), the US Geological Survey said.
Papua New Guinea is along the “Ring of Fire,” a zone of seismic activity and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a large area where about 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur, according to the USGS.
Saturday’s quake prompted the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to caution that tsunamis are possible until midnight local time along some coasts in the South Pacific.
This is a developing story. We will update you as we get more information.
