A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea on Thursday, officials said, but no Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued.

The tremor hit at a depth of 46 kilometres (28 miles) near the sparsely-populated New Ireland region, 110 kilometres southeast of the town Kokopo, the United States Geological Survey said.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center ruled out a widespread tsunami and Geoscience Australia estimated any damage would only be within a 49-kilometre radius.

Earthquakes are common near Papua New Guinea, which lies on the 4,000-kilometre-long Pacific Australia plate.

It forms part of the "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

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How strike-slip faults form, the origin of earthquakes
Amherst MA (SPX) Jul 07, 2017
Structural geologist Michele Cooke calls it the "million-dollar question" that underlies all work in her laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst: what goes on deep in the earth as strike-slip faults form in the crust? This is the fault type that occurs when two tectonic plates slide past one another, generating the waves of energy we sometimes feel as earthquakes. Geologists ... read more

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