As determined by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC), a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred Wednesday in the Aru Basin south of Papua New Guinea. Just 33 seconds before the magnitude 7.2 main shock, a magnitude 6.2 foreshock occurred in the same location. The magnitude 7.2 earthquake was sufficiently far from populated areas on land that no reports of damage or deaths have been received.
