Powerful earthquake causes many deaths and destruction in Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, It killed at least three people and caused significant damage to about 1,000 houses. Earthquake According to officials, a 6.9 magnitude explosion occurred in a remote area of ​​western Papua New Guinea.

The earthquake struck at about 6:20 a.m. Sunday near the town of Ambunti, about 756 kilometers (470 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby in the East Sepik region. The epicenter was recorded at a depth of about 40 km (25 mi), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

East Sepik Governor Alan Bird said on Facebook on Sunday that initial estimates put about 1,000 homes destroyed in the region that was already “struggling with widespread flooding” this month.

“The floods cover an area over 800 kilometers long, so about 60 or 70 villages along the Sepik River are affected,” Bird told the ABC on Monday.

Local rescue workers were already working in the area due to flooding when the earthquake struck.

“Floods were not their biggest problem. “They handled it with confidence because it’s something they’re used to,” the governor said. “This was the earthquake no one was prepared for. “This could have caused the greatest damage.”

The population’s most urgent needs, he said, were shelter, clean water, food and tarps to keep people’s belongings dry.

Papua New Guinea, an island nation in the South Pacific located north of Australia, suffered two earthquakes in April last year, including a magnitude 7.0 quake that killed four people in a remote area in the north of the country. It was done.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck another remote area of ​​the island in September 2022, killing 21 people, it was later reported.

The country is located on the eastern side of the island of New Guinea on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of seismic faults in the Pacific Basin where most of the planet’s seismic and volcanic activity occurs.

In recent months, the island has also faced civil unrest, with 15 people killed in disputes in its two main towns in January. Last month, at least 26 fighters and an unconfirmed number of civilians were killed in a tribal conflict.