Small tsunami seen near epicenter of Papua New Guinea quake
A powerful earthquake rattled the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, generating a small tsunami near the epicenter, bringing down power lines and cracking walls, but causing no widespread damage.
A tsunami estimated at under 1 meter (3 feet) was seen in the harbor of Rabaul, a town near the epicenter of the 7.5-magnitude quake, said Chris McKee, assistant director of the Geophysical Observatory in the capital, Port Moresby. There were no reports of flooding, as the tsunami didn't rise beyond the normal level of high tide, McKee said.
The temblor struck at a depth of 42 kilometers (26 miles), about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the town of Kokopo in northeastern Papua New Guinea, the US Geological Survey reported, after issuing varying estimates of the quake's power.
