Photo: USGS
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake was reported in Papua New Guinea on Monday (December 22), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was recorded at 8:31 p.m. local time and centered about 42 kilometers (about 26 miles) north-northeast of Goroka, at a depth of 110.2 kilometers (about 68 miles). The USGS said it received 10 reports of people having felt the earthquake at the time of publication on Monday.
There is currently no tsunami threat in effect. The 6.5-magnitude earthquake was the largest recorded in Papua New Guinea in the past month and the third recorded in the past 24 hours, the seventh in the past week, the 19th in the past month and the 380th in the past year, according to EarthquakeTrack.com.
Papua New Guinea is among the countries most prone to earthquakes as it's located on the 'Ring of Fire' region where earthquakes commonly occur in the Pacific. Earthquakes measured between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude can be felt by a large population, however, rarely results in much damage, according to Michigan Tech via the Sacramento Bee.
An estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes are reported worldwide annually, however, around 100,000 are felt and only 100 typically result in serious damage. Officials strongly advise that anyone caught in an earthquake should drop, cover and hold on, according to the Sacramento Bee.