Earthquake Strikes Off Coast of Papua New Guinea

Map of Papua New Guinea

CNN - A preliminary 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Monday morning off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

The quake struck around 9:39 a.m. and was centered 131 kilometers (81 miles) east of Wewak, which is on the northern coast of the Pacific nation, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Its depth was reported at 16 kilometers (9 miles).

The Japan Meteorological Agency - which had an identical measure for the quake's strength -- noted on its website that "there is a very small possibility of a destructive local tsunami" as a result. It said any tsunami likely would not be over half a meter (20 inches) high.
"However at some coasts, particularly near the epicenter, high tsunamis may arrive (larger) than our estimation," the agency said on its website.

But within about two hours after the quake struck, the Japanese agency reported there were no such warnings or advisories still in effect.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue any threats or warning, noting on its website that there was no danger of a tsunami striking Hawaii. Similarly, the Australia tsunami warning center said there was no threat to that nation.

In the last 30 days there were a few powerful earthquakes. On July 20 an quake measuring 6,2 struck Kyrgyzstan an Uzbekistan. Another natural disaster happened yesterday - earthquake with magnitute of 6,1 jolted Japan.

Earthquake 6,2 Richter Hit Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan

An earthquake measuring 6.2 rocked south-western Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan early today, triggering panic in the region, seismologists and witnesses said.

The quake hit in the middle of the night at 1:35am (local time) shaking the region some 400 kilometres south-west of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, with the epicentre 42 kilometres south-west of the Uzbek town of Fergana, the US Geological Survey said.

"We were woken up by a noise and strong jolts which lasted for about 40 seconds. The house began to shake," said Albek Seitov, a resident of the Kyrgyz town of Och in the Fergana Valley.

"I thought it was a dream, a nightmare. I went out in the street like my neighbours. Everyone is afraid, panicking," he said.

The quake struck the border region at a depth of just 9.2 kilometres, rocking Fergana which has some 200,000 residents.

"The people were scared and went out onto the streets. It lasted for a few seconds. There are cracks on the ceiling and the paint has started to fall off in my home," said Abdullah, who did not want to give his family name.

Another Fergana resident, Sukhrob, said the tremors had stopped, but people were frightened of returning home.

"I haven't seen houses destroyed. But the people are still outside, they're afraid of going home," he said.

The earthquake centres in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan could not be contacted early on Wednesday and there were no immediate reports of victims or serious damage to property.

The Fergana Valley is an area shared uneasily by Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek ethnic groups and the scene of periodic violence and unrest since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Indonesia Quake Death Toll Reaches 75 People.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A major earthquake in Indonesia killed at least 75 people Wednesday, according to a Red Cross disaster report, citing an official report from the country's vice president.

Wednesday's earthquake was centered in Indonesia's West Sumatra province.

Earlier in the day an official said the quake toll was at least 21, with hundreds more injured.

Thousands may be trapped by collapsed buildings and houses, said Rustam Pakaya, the head of Ministry of Health's crisis center. He said 75 people were seriously injured.

The quake caused widespread power and phone outages, making it difficult to assess the scope of the damage.

It struck at around 5 p.m. local time, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) from Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra. Padang is home to more than 800,000 people.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.6, according to the U.S Geological Survey, caused widespread power and phone outages, making it difficult for authorities and aid organizations to evaluate damage

State-run Antara news agency cited Pakaya as saying he had received reports that part of a hospital had collapsed and that people were buried under the debris.

The earthquake was felt in nearby cities, such as Medan and Gengkulu, where people panicked and ran outside in search of higher ground, fearing a tsunami.

But it was also felt as far away as Singapore and Malaysia.

The Web site for one of Indonesia's main newspapers, The Jakarta Globe, crashed for a while, partly as a result of the heavy traffic from people trying to find out about the quake, the paper said in a Twitter post.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a tsunami watch for Indonesia, India, Thailand and Malaysia, but canceled it soon after.

The temblor did generate a tsunami just under one foot high, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

On Tuesday, a magnitude 8.0 quake-triggered tsunami killed at least 111 people in the Samoan islands and Tonga.

The tsunami waves swept across a wide swath of the Pacific Ocean, killing dozens and flattening or submerging villages. The dead included 22 in American Samoa, 82 in Samoa and seven in Tonga.

Officials warned that the death toll could rise as rescue workers start to reach outlying villages and discover new casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey declined to say whether the two quakes were linked. The epicenters of the two temblors are about 4,700 miles (7,600 km) apart.