A strong earthquake struck New Britain region of Papua New Guinea on early Wednesday morning local time, the United States Geological Survey reported on its website.

The quake measuring 6.3 magnitude on the Richter scale occurred on 5:18 a.m. on Wednesday local time (1918 GMT Tuesday), 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Kandrian on New Britain Island at a depth of 35.9 km (22.3), the USGS said.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that, based on historical data, there was no immediate threat of a widespread destructive tsunami.