CANBERRA, Sept. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale recorded in the seas off the south coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG) earlier Friday is not expected to cause any damage or major wave, a spokesman of the Geophysical Observatory in Port Moresby said.

    The Geophysical Observatory said a few aftershocks were expected after the strong quake, of which epicenter was initially determined to be about 140 kilometers south of Rabaul on PNG's island of New Britain with a population of about 20,000, Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio reported.

    The quake comes three weeks after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Papua New Guinea causing a "small tsunami" in Rabaul harbor.

    Rabaul was destroyed in the September 1994 eruption of Tuvurvurvolcano. Enditem