PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea, June 7 (UPI) -- An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 6.1 was detected Thursday below the Bismarck Sea off the northern coast of Papua New Guinea.
Residents on the mainland reported no initial signs of any tsunami-like changes in sea levels, Radio Australia reported Thursday.
The temblor was reported to be centered 435 miles north of Port Moresby.
In 1998, two undersea quakes in the same region created three tsunamis that killed about 2,000 people near the town of Aitape.
Meanwhile, a 6.3-magnitude quake struck off eastern Indonesia Wednesday, again with no reports of casualties or damage, Radio Australia said. That quake occurred under the Banda Sea about 75 miles northwest of the town of Saumlaki on Yamdena Island and 300 miles southeast of the provincial capital of Ambon.
However, thousands of people fled their homes in panic after hoax text messages spread warning them a tsunami would hit the region, the network said.
In China, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake Sunday caused at least three deaths and 300 injuries in the country's Yunnan Province. More than 90,000 homes collapsed and another 270,000 were reported damaged, according to the Church World Service disaster relief organization.
