Strong undersea quake hits off PNG island

SYDNEY, Nov 8 (Reuters) A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the remote coast of New Britain island in Papua New Guinea today, but disaster officials said it would take days to receive reports from the area.

The southern coast of New Britain is home to scattered villages that take days to reach by foot.

''We have not received any reports of damage as yet because it takes days to reach the south coast of New Britain,'' said disaster official Peter Barkie from the town of Kimbe in the north of New Britain.

In 1998, two tsunamis generated by an undersea earthquake killed more than 2,000 people living in small coastal villages on Papua New Guinea's remote northern shore. News of the tsunamis and deaths took days to reach the outside world.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no threat of a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami from the quake off New Britain island, but it said earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis.

The earthquake early today morning local time was centred about 178 km east of the town of Kandrian, at a depth of 10 km, the US Geological Survey said.

Papua New Guinea lies on the Pacific ''Ring of Fire'', a seismically active area with frequent earthquakes and volcanoes.

REUTERS PB BD1027