6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville Island

A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake has struck off Papua New Guinea's Bougainville Island but there is no risk of a widespread tsunami, seismologists say.

The quake hit at 0104 GMT (1104 AEST) on Saturday and was centred 62km southwest of the town of Panguna on Bougainville at a depth of 45km, the US Geological Survey said.

In its initial estimate, the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

According to the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre there was no threat of a destructive widespread tsunami based on historical data.

Geoscience Australia measured the quake at magnitude 7.0 and said it was probably felt within a wide radius, with the potential for localised shaking damage.

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This was the latest in a recent cluster of earthquakes in the Panguna region, with five events recorded in the past week including powerful magnitude 7.6 and 7.5 tremors that triggered a local tsunami alert.

Those jolts were felt locally but there were no reports of significant damage from remote and isolated Bougainville, which sits between the island of New Guinea and the Solomons.

It sure seems that we are ahead of the average usual large quakes in a year already this year. Lots of bigger quakes.