7.5 earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

The earthquake hit South-East of Kokopo.

"The March 29, 2015 M 7.5 earthquake southeast of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, occurred as the result of thrust faulting on or near the plate boundary interface between the subducting Australia and overriding Pacific plates.  At the location of the earthquake, the Australia plate moves towards the east-northeast at a velocity of 105 mm/yr with respect to the Pacific plate, and begins its subduction into the mantle beneath New Britain and New Ireland at the New Britain Trench south of the earthquake," the United States Geological Survey (USGS) website said.

"The moment tensor and depth of the event are consistent with thrust-type motion on the interface between these two plates. Note that at the location of the earthquake, some researchers divide the edges of the Australia and Pacific plates into several microplates that take up the overall convergence between Australia and the Pacific, including the Solomon Sea and South Bismark microplates local to this event. The Solomon Sea plate moves slightly faster and more northeasterly with respect to the Pacific plate than does Australia due to sea-floor spreading in the Woodlark Basin several hundred kilometers to the south of the March 29 earthquake, facilitating the classic subduction evident beneath New Britain and New Ireland," it said.

The  Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had earlier warned: "Tsunami waves reaching 1 to 3 meters above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Papua New Guinea."

The threat later passed as the Center said : "The Tsunami threat has now been largely passed."

No casualty or damage to property have been reported so far.