A powerful, magnitude-8 earthquake has hit Papua New Guinea, prompting warnings that tsunami waves may hit the small island country in the Pacific Ocean.

Axar.az reports that, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on Sunday the quake hit Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville, previously known as the North Solomons Province, at a depth of 167 kilometers.

The US’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) warned that a “widespread tsunami” was possible and that it could generate tsunami waves on nearby islands, too.

“Hazardous tsunami waves are possible” for the next three hours as a result of the earthquake along the coasts of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Vanuatu, Chuuk and Indonesia, the PTWC said.