Sept 11 (Reuters) – A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Papua New Guinea on Sunday, killing at least four people, injuring others and destroying property and key infrastructure. The earthquake struck about 67 km east of Kainantu and 80 km northwest of Lae in PNG’s eastern region at about 9:45 am. local time (2345 GMT Saturday), but was felt about 500 km (310 miles) away in the capital of Port Moresby. The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear as the quake’s location was remote. Earthquakes are common in PNG, which sits on the Pacific Ocean’s ‘Ring of Fire’, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Although the government did not give a death toll, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Asia and the Pacific said that at least 4 deaths and 4 injuries have been reported. One person has died in a landslide in Madang’s Rai Coast, while three others have been buried in Wau, Morobe, OCHA’s PNG disaster management team said in a report posted on Twitter. The regional power grid, internet cables and the regional highway were damaged, but the airport is operational, it said. Some of the injured were taken by helicopter for immediate treatment. Papua New Guineans shared images and videos on social media of cracked roads, damaged buildings and cars and items falling from supermarket shelves. The UN report said people were injured by falling structures or debris, and some health centers, houses, rural roads and highways were damaged. Electricity infrastructure was damaged in the affected areas, causing blackouts in the eastern highlands. State-backed communications provider PNG DataCo also reported impacts to its undersea cable network, resulting in widespread outages. The US Tsunami Warning System issued a warning after the quake, but later said the danger had passed. There is no immediate threat to Australia, its Bureau of Meteorology said. In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake shook PNG’s remote highlands, killing more than 100 people and damaging thousands of homes. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Praveen Menon in Sydney. Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Alexander Smith Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
