A powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake tremored Papua New Guinea today, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, prompting the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) to issue an alert in several coastal areas.<br/><br/>Hazardous tsunami waves are predicted in the coastal areas of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Nauru and other islands in the three hours following the earthquake, the PTWC said.<br/><br/>The earthquake occured 60 km to the east of Taron, New Ireland, at 8.51 p.m. local time and was originally recorded at 8.0 magnitude and then slightly revised to 7.9. USGS said that it occured at a depth of about 75 km.