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According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.9 occurred on the coast of New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea on Saturday morning.
The earthquake, which struck at a depth of ten kilometers, triggered a tsunami warning, but it was later downgraded by the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
'Based on all available data, the danger of tsunami from this earthquake has now passed', the center said, saying that 'no tsunami has been observed' at the nearest monitoring site.
The earthquake struck at 6:04 a.m. local time and was centered about 194 kilometers southeast of the nearby major city of Kimbe.
Maroline Simbiken, the receptionist at Liamo Reef Resort in Kimbe, said that she has not seen any damage so far.
'We felt the earthquake here', he said, 'but there is no major damage. There was no damage here and there was no evacuation order.'
Walindi Plantation Resort employee Barbara Aibilo said she felt a 'light tremor'.
According to the USGS, several smaller earthquakes with initial magnitudes ranging from 4.9 to 5.3 occurred near the same area of the ocean.
Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea. The country is located on the seismic 'Ring of Fire' (a region of intense tectonic activity spanning Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin).
Although they do not cause widespread damage in sparsely populated areas, they can cause devastating landslides.
