A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.

The quake hit the remote New Britain region at a depth of 154 kilometres (95 miles), 512 kilometres northeast of capital Port Moresby.

Powerful earthquakes are common in impoverished PNG, which sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

A giant tsunami in 1998 killed more than 2,000 people near Aitape, on the country's northwest coast.