ANKARA

A strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Papua New Guinea region on Monday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake occurred at 1031GMT, at Goroka, capital of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, at a depth of 110 kilometers (68 miles), USGS said.

The German Research Center for Geosciences initially reported the magnitude of the quake as 6.6, and later reduced it to 6.4.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and no tsunami warning was issued.