A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, striking off the northern coast.

A USGS map showed the tremor centred in a patch of ocean some 300 km east of the town of Vanimo, at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on top of the seismic “Ring of Fire” an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Although they seldom cause widespread damage in sparsely populated areas, they can trigger destructive landslides.

Source: Qatar News Agency