Secretary of the Department of Mineral Policy & Geohazard Management has dispelled rumors of an impending earthquake at around 11pm Tuesday night around the New Guinea Islands.

Secretary Mr. Harry Kore said his Department through the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory is responsible for the monitoring of earthquakes and tsunami activities in PNG and the region.

The Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory (PMGO) further advised that earthquakes cannot be predicted and no organization worldwide has ever predicted any earthquakes.

Additionally, the source of information is not from a reputable organization and it's worth noting that PNG does not have a Natural Disaster Response Office.

The PMGO is the only office that has monitoring instruments to monitor and assess earthquakes and tsunamis and however high-tech this equipment may be, it is unable to predict when earthquakes will occur.

Therefore the information being circulated on social media is false and misleading however the Rabaul Volcano Observatory is monitoring the situation closely at this time.

They also warn that whoever's responsible for creating and disseminating this hoax message will be dealt with accordingly.