A massive 7.5 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Tuesday.

The quake struck locally at about 10:58 p.m., which is 8:58 a.m. ET, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Shortly after the quake, the USGS said there was a tsunami threat for Hawaii, with an impact possibly reaching the islands by 11:22 a.m. local time, or 5:22 p.m. ET.

But by about 10 a.m. ET, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center declared Hawaii safe from the tsunami threat. And a short time later, a tsunami threat in the region of the quake had also largely passed.

Hawaii is about 3,800 miles east of Papua New Guinea.

A 7.7 earthquake has hit an island in Papua New Guinea. Officials has issued a tsunami alert for parts of the Pacific close to the earthquake. USGS.gov

The quake was centered about 28 miles northeast of the city of Kokopo and struck at a relatively shallow depth of 6 miles.

While shallow quakes tend to cause more damage on the surface, the USGS estimated that damage and injuries could be lower because of the region’s relatively sparse population.

Papua New Guinea is off the northeast coast of Australia and sits on the Pacific's "ring of fire," an arc of seismic faults around the ocean where many quakes and volcanic activity take place.