A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit northern Papua New Guinea early Monday, but there was no threat of a tsunami, US seismologists said.

The epicentre of the quake, which hit at 0656 local time (2056 GMT), was roughly 110 kilometres (68 miles) east-southeast of Kimbe on the island of New Britain, at a depth of 64 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said in a statement that there was "no tsunami threat". There were no immediate local reports of damage.

The region was rattled last month when at least five people were killed and an estimated 1,000 homes destroyed following a magnitude 6.9 earthquake.