Earthquake rocks Papua New Guinea

Canberra, May 14 

A powerful earthquake stuck Papua New Guinea on Tuesday evening, triggering a tsunami alert for the country and for the nearby Solomon Islands.

 The US Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude 7.5 and was located 45 kilometers northeast of Kokopo. 

 It was centered at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers, it said.

Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage on the Earth's surface, but the USGS estimated that damage and injuries would be low because of the sparse population.

Papua New Guinea is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, to the east of Indonesia. —AP