SYDNEY: A powerful earthquake rocked the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was located 65 kilometers (40 miles) west-southwest of Panguna in Papua New Guinea. It struck at 8:31 p.m. (1031 GMT) at a depth of 58 kilometers (36 miles), it said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami was unlikely.

Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea. The country lies on the “Ring of Fire” — an arc of earthquake and volcanic activity that stretches around the Pacific Rim.

A magnitude-7.0 earthquake on the northern coast in 1998 generated a large tsunami that swamped several villages, killing about 2,200 people.