<p><span>A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea today, sending frightened residents fleeing from their homes, but a threatened tsunami passed without incident, seismologists said.</span></p>.<p><span>The quake struck 133 kilometres (83 miles) south-southwest of the town of Kokopo in the New Britain region at a depth of 63 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said, and was followed by a 5.9 magnitude aftershock.</span></p>.<p><span>The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that "hazardous tsunami waves" were possible but in a later update said "the tsunami threat has now mostly passed".</span></p>.<p><span>Mathew Moihoi, a seismologist at the PNG Geophysical Observatory, said the latest quake followed a series of seismic activity in the region in recent weeks but there had been no reports of major damage to buildings or infrastructure.</span></p>.<p><span>"Some things fell off the shelves," he told AFP.</span></p>.<p><span>Annette Sete, who lives in Kokopo, said there had been powerful tremors recently "but this latest one was big".</span></p>.<p><span>"Schools shut and kids sent home, many homes had the interiors turned upside down. A number of power lines down and trees fallen but no reports of casualties yet," she said.</span></p>.<p><span>Zenia Lopez, a worker at the Kokopo Village Resort, said she and her colleagues ran outside when the quake struck, but there was no damage to their resort.</span></p>.<p><span>"It was frightening, we all ran outside, but the place is okay, there is no damage," she said.</span></p>.<p><span>A receptionist at the Seaview Beach Resort in Kokopo added to AFP before the phone line cut off that "we felt the earth shaking" but that "everything was okay".</span></p>.<p><span>The quake hit in the remote New Britain area near Rabaul, but Moihoi said he did not think it was related to an active volcano some 110 kilometres away.</span></p>.<p><span>"Right now, we think it's tectonic in origin," he said. "Whether it develops a flow-on effect... we just don't know right now."</span></p>.<p><span>Kokopo, the capital of East New Britain, has a population of around 20,000. It started to grow after Rabaul was flattened by volcanic eruptions in 1994.</span></p>.<p><span>Last week, a 6.8 earthquake hit off Kokopo after a 6.7 tremor struck off the same area on Thursday. There was no reported damage.</span></p>.<p><span>Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Jonathan Bathgate told AFP the region had been very active recently and noted that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurred on March 30, generating a local tsunami. Again, there was no major damage reported.</span></p>.<p><span>"We can't predict earthquakes but this area is in a very active sequence. This could be the biggest earthquake that's been building up over the last few months, but there could be another larger earthquake," Bathgate added. </span></p>
<p><span>A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea today, sending frightened residents fleeing from their homes, but a threatened tsunami passed without incident, seismologists said.</span></p>.<p><span>The quake struck 133 kilometres (83 miles) south-southwest of the town of Kokopo in the New Britain region at a depth of 63 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said, and was followed by a 5.9 magnitude aftershock.</span></p>.<p><span>The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that "hazardous tsunami waves" were possible but in a later update said "the tsunami threat has now mostly passed".</span></p>.<p><span>Mathew Moihoi, a seismologist at the PNG Geophysical Observatory, said the latest quake followed a series of seismic activity in the region in recent weeks but there had been no reports of major damage to buildings or infrastructure.</span></p>.<p><span>"Some things fell off the shelves," he told AFP.</span></p>.<p><span>Annette Sete, who lives in Kokopo, said there had been powerful tremors recently "but this latest one was big".</span></p>.<p><span>"Schools shut and kids sent home, many homes had the interiors turned upside down. A number of power lines down and trees fallen but no reports of casualties yet," she said.</span></p>.<p><span>Zenia Lopez, a worker at the Kokopo Village Resort, said she and her colleagues ran outside when the quake struck, but there was no damage to their resort.</span></p>.<p><span>"It was frightening, we all ran outside, but the place is okay, there is no damage," she said.</span></p>.<p><span>A receptionist at the Seaview Beach Resort in Kokopo added to AFP before the phone line cut off that "we felt the earth shaking" but that "everything was okay".</span></p>.<p><span>The quake hit in the remote New Britain area near Rabaul, but Moihoi said he did not think it was related to an active volcano some 110 kilometres away.</span></p>.<p><span>"Right now, we think it's tectonic in origin," he said. "Whether it develops a flow-on effect... we just don't know right now."</span></p>.<p><span>Kokopo, the capital of East New Britain, has a population of around 20,000. It started to grow after Rabaul was flattened by volcanic eruptions in 1994.</span></p>.<p><span>Last week, a 6.8 earthquake hit off Kokopo after a 6.7 tremor struck off the same area on Thursday. There was no reported damage.</span></p>.<p><span>Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Jonathan Bathgate told AFP the region had been very active recently and noted that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurred on March 30, generating a local tsunami. Again, there was no major damage reported.</span></p>.<p><span>"We can't predict earthquakes but this area is in a very active sequence. This could be the biggest earthquake that's been building up over the last few months, but there could be another larger earthquake," Bathgate added. </span></p>