At least four people have been confirmed dead, and another four injured after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea yesterday.
The earthquake struck eastern Papua New Guinea at 9:46am local time on Sunday, about 67km east of Kainantu and 80km north-west of Lae.
A second earthquake hit just under an hour later, located approximately 73km north-west of the original epicentre. It registered 5.0 on the Richter scale.
Shocks were felt in the capital of Port Moresby, about 500km south of the epicentre.
The Papua New Guinea Disaster Management Team released a report outlining that the four casualties were buried in landslides as a result of the earthquake. One of them was buried in Rai Coast, Mandang, and three in Wau.
A tsunami warning was also issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, however the threat was lifted at 10:25am local time.
Highways and buildings were among the infrastructure impacted by the earthquake. The Ramu hydropower station was also damaged, causing a total system outage in Madang and Morobe. Some people took to Twitter to share footage of the Earthquake.
Earthquake of magnitude 7.6 in Papua New Guinea, this Sunday morning, local time. The focus was located 67 km east of #Kainantu at a depth of 61.4 km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). #PapuaNewGuinea #Papua pic.twitter.com/lqJzKqzIo7
— AUSTROHÚNGARO (@AUSTROHNGARO2) September 11, 2022
Footage of The University of Goroka as a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea. pic.twitter.com/NBOU5Xh0kE
— Apex World News (@apexworldnews) September 11, 2022
Sitting on the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea is prone to earthquakes due to the constant friction between tectonic plates.
PHOTO: Papua New Guinea Flag by Drew Douglas is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons licence. This photo has not been modified.
