Strong earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

A powerful earthquake struck Papua New Guinea early Friday, one month after an even stronger quake killed 125 people on the island nation.

Hawaii's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center registered the tremor at a magnitude of 7.2, but said that an immediate danger had passed. There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties, this is not unusual however, as the country's mountainous and remote landscape can make it difficult to ascertain the extent of a quake's impact for several days.

Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

Roads and houses are still being rebuilt from last month's earthquake. On February 26, a magnitude 7.5 quake buried buildings, destroyed homes and sparked landslides that prompted 35,000 people to flee their homes and killed at least 125.

The tremor also forced the relatively poor nation's largest revenue source, a natural gas project led by Exxon Mobil, to shut down while damage is assessed at its facilities.

es/bw (Reuters, dpa)

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