Earth moves in Cairns after Papua New Guinea earthquake

AN EARTHQUAKE registering a magnitude of 7.2 has rattled buildings in the Cairns CBD despite the epicentre being 1300km away.

The earthquake struck the remote Papua New Guinea town of Bulolo at a depth of 127km early yesterday morning.

The depth of the eliminated epicentre any chance of a tsunami affecting the North Queensland coast according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

Social media photos out of Lae showed stock strewn over the floors of supermarkets and clinics, though there appeared to have been little structural damage.

Geoscience Australia’s senior seismologist Eddie Leash said the organisation had received numerous reports of the quake being felt in the Torres Strait and one single report from Cairns.