Quakes hit PNG, Banda Sea<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (AP): An intense earthquake hit Papua New Guinea
\nearly Saturday, followed by another in the Banda Sea near East
\nTimor, seismologists in Hong Kong and Australia said.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of damage or casualties, nor was there
\nevidence of tsunami, the huge waves that can be generated by
\nearthquakes.<\/p>\n
The first tremor, with an estimated 6.4 magnitude, shook the
\nGulf of Papua New Guinea near the Fly River estuary, about 300
\nkilometers (190 miles) west of the capital, Port Moresby, said
\nMark Leonard, a spokesman for the Australian Geological Survey
\nOrganization.<\/p>\n
\"The people living in the river estuary would have got a bit
\nof a shock,\" Leonard said.<\/p>\n
The area is not heavily built up and the small, wooden
\nbuildings common in the region tend to be earthquake resistant,
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
Also Saturday, another quake with an estimated magnitude of
\n6.4 hit an area near East Timor, the Hong Kong Observatory said.<\/p>\n
It was centered beneath the Banda Sea about 372 kilometers
\n(230 miles) east-northeast of Dili, East Timor, the observatory
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Banda Sea, part of the South Pacific Ocean, is west of
\nPapua New Guinea and north of Western Australia.<\/p>\n
An earthquake with a magnitude of over 6.0 can cause
\nconsiderable damage when centered under heavily populated areas.<\/p>",
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