Powerful Quake Hits South Pacific; 1 Killed
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United Press International
RABAUL, Papua New Guinea — A powerful earthquake shook villages in Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific today, killing one person and destroying buildings, officials said.
The quake, measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, struck at 4:34 a.m. It was the strongest quake to occur anywhere in the world in nearly three months, Don Finley of the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington said.
The quake was centered near the western end of New Britain island, 280 miles northeast of Port Moresby.
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