A strong earthquake struck the province of Papua, Indonesia this evening.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the 7.1-magnitude tremor did not generate a tsunami.
The earthquake struck on land in the mountainous province at 1:42 p.m. Saturday, local time, or 6:42 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Its epicenter was located 169 miles west-southwest of Jayapura, Papua’s capital.
The Reuters news service said there was no immediate reports of damage.
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The US Geological Survey said the tremor occurred at a depth of nearly 47 miles.
Papua is the easternmost province of Indonesia and comprises most of the western half of New Guinea. It was also the location of an 8.2-magnitude tremor in 1996 that killed 166 people.
According to the US Geological Survey, the New Guinea area has seen 22 earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or greater since 1900.
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Today’s quake was located about 1,500 miles northwest of the Solomon Islands which was rocked by an 8.0 earthquake in early February that was followed by more than 100 strong aftershocks.
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