Magnitude 5.2 earthquake rocks Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake has struck near the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea.

The quake hit about 74km northwest of Rabaul, a township in the East New Britain province.

It occurred at about 4.30pm AEST and recorded a depth of 10km.

New Britain Region is one of four regions in PNG.

In March, several people died and about 1000 homes were destroyed when a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the East Sepik Province.