The epicenter was located south-west of Rabaul, which was destroyed in 1994 after the Mount Tavurvur volcano erupted.

An alert has been issued after a major quake hit off the coast of Papua New Guinea Friday. Photo: Reuters

by teleSUR

On Friday, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake was registered off the coast of the Pacific Island of Papua New Guinea, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

Authorities have not reported any damages or casualties as of yet.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 128 km south-south-west of Rabaul, a town on East New Britain Island which was also struck by a 6.9 quake Thursday. The town, located at the foot of the Mount Tavurvur volcano, was destroyed in a 1994 eruption.

Papua New Guinea is located in the Pacific ring of fire, the most active seismic region in the World. An earthquake in 1994 left more than 2,000 people in the country dead after a Tsunami devastated the island.