Two strong earthquakes struck Papua New Guinea within half an hour of each other today, the US Geological Survey said.

Both had a magnitude above six on the Richter scale.

The epicentres of both quakes were around 525 kilometres north-east of Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a widespread destructive tsunami from either quake, based on previous earthquake and tsunami data.

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