Earthquakes strike Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Sunday, the country's geophysics agency (BMKG) said. There was no danger of tsunami.

The quake was at a depth of 27km and was followed by one of magnitude 5.3 in the same area, BMKG reported. Local online media said one person was injured in the head by falling wood.

Also on Sunday, east of the vast Indonesian archipelago, an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck the Eastern New Guinea region in Papua New Guinea, reportedly damaging property and spreading panic among residents.

There were no reports of casualties, and no official confirmation of any damage to property.

The quake was at a depth of 80km, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

The US tsunami warning system issued a tsunami warning after the quake but it later said the threat had passed. There was no immediate tsunami threat to Australia, its Bureau of Meteorology said.

Papua New Guinea residents took to the social media sharing images and videos of cracked roads, damaged buildings and cars, and items falling off supermarket shelves.

Indonesia and Papua New Guinea sit on on the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire”, where different tectonic plates of the Earth's crust meet and create frequent seismic activity. A magnitude 7.5 quake rocked PNG's remote mountainous highlands in 2018, killing more 100 people and damaging thousands of homes.