World | Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:16pm EDT Related: WORLD

Major 7.7 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued

SYDNEY

(Reuters) - A major earthquake with a magnitude 7.7 struck off Papua New Guinea on Monday, official monitors said, and a tsunami warning was issued soon after.

The epicenter of the quake was near the town of Rabaul in the northeast of Papua New Guinea, The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.


The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said "hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000 km (620 miles) of the earthquake epicenter along the coasts of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands".

No destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami was expected, it said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0MQ00P20150330