According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake is about 41 miles east of Kainantu.
Geophysicist Jana Pursley of the USGS said the temblor might cause moderate to severe damage, but there were no major cities within range of its deadly waves.
“This could definitely be a damaging earthquake,” Pursley said.
USGS said that despite liquefaction, where water-logged soil is weakening, and other instability, such as landslides, a relatively limited population was likely affected by the earthquake.
According to the USGS, the earthquake was caused by normal faulting about 56 miles beneath an area of the country near the northern edge of the Australia plate.
As a result of the earthquake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no threat of tidal waves to the United States and Pacific territories.
In the last 50 years, the USGS has recorded 78 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher in the area of the quake in Papua New Guinea.