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An earthquake measuring 7.9 rocked the Pacific Ocean sparking warnings that a deadly tsunami could hit Papua New Guinea.

Scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement claiming giant waves of up to 3 metres were possible before cancelling the warnings.

The quake was was initially reported as 8.0 before being downgraded to 7.9.

So far nobody has been injured and there are no reports of any serious damage.

The quake struck 157km to the east of Rabaul this morning at 10.51UTC or GMT at a depth of 64 miles, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

(Image: Twitter/@xtaldave 1m)

The USGS classifies a magnitude 7.9 earthquake as a major earthquake with the possibility of serious damage.

The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence at first said the warning extended to parts of the New Zealand coastline and told people to stay off the beaches.

But officials then cancelled the warning after their tsunami expert determined there was no threat to New Zealand.

A tsunami threat to Hawaii is reportedly still being evaluated.

(Image: Twitter/Le Globe)

The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence tweeted: "We are cancelling the tsunami threat for NZ issued earlier this morning after the mag 8 eq in Papua New Guinea at 11.51pm

"The tsunami expert panel has assessed the mag 8 PNG earthquake and determined there is no threat to NZ. The threat is being cancelled."

Island Papua New Guinea sits in the Pacific Ocean and has 7.3 million inhabitants.

In 1998 over 2,000 people were killed when a 7.0 earthquake sparked 50ft waves that caused widespread destruction on the island.

(Image: Fairfax Media/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

British tourists visit the country to witness its immense cultural and biological diversity from beaches to rainforests.

Last weekend a 7.7magnitude earthquake struck near to the neighbouring Solomon Islands just over 1,000 miles away.

It initially sparked threats of a tsunami for the next three-hours as far as Hawaii before the warning was called off.