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Papua New Guinea: 7.6M Earthquake – Morobe, Madang, Eastern Highlands Provinces - Disaster Management Team Flash Update No. 01

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Папуа-Новая Гвинея
Источники
UNCT PNG
Дата публикации

This update is produced by the Papua New Guinea Disaster Management Team (DMT) in collaboration with humanitarian partners

HIGHLIGHTS

• A 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurred 67 km east of Kainantu, Eastern Highlands province.

• So far, at least 4 deaths and four injuries have been reported.

• The regional power grid, internet cables, and the regional highway have been damaged.

• The regional commercial airports remain operations.

• The COVID-19 hotline has been repurposed to collect information from the public on the effects of the earthquake.

• Mission Aviation Fellowship are conducting aerial reconnaissance to complete geo-synched imagery of the area surrounding the epicentre.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck at 9:46 a.m. local time (UTC+10) about 67 km (41 miles) east of Kainantu,
Eastern Highlands, and 80 km (50 miles) north-west of Lae, Morobe, according to the US Geological Survey. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 61 km (38 miles) and was felt around the country, including the national capital Port Moresby, where moderate to severe shaking was felt for over a minute. A second earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 occurred at 10:42 a.m. local time about 73 km (45 miles) north-west of the epicentre of the previous earthquake, but at a deeper depth of 101 km (63 miles) Although a tsunami threat message was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, the threat was lifted by 10:25 a.m. local time.

So far, at least four deaths have been reported—one in Rai Coast, Madang, and three in Wau, Morobe. All were buried in landslides. Mission Aviation Fellowship also medevacked four injured persons from Nankina in Rai Coast to Goroka for medical treatment. Other people in Morobe had been injured from falling structures or debris, and there was damage to some health centres, homes, rural roads and highways, according to the Morobe provincial disaster centre.

Early information from the affected area indicates there have been moderate to heavy damages to dwellings made from light materials and minor structural damages to multi-story buildings in communities around the epicentre and as far away as the Morobe provincial capital of Lae and in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, about 120 km (75 miles) from the epicentre.

The Ramu hydropower station near Kainantu, Eastern Highlands, was damaged, resulting in a total system outage across the Highlands provinces, Madang, and Morobe. It also reported damages to power supply infrastructure in the urben centres of Lae and Madang, as well as parts of the Highlands. PNG DataCo, the stateowned wholesale ICT services provider, reported that Kumul submarine cable network express link between Port Moresby and Madang, and the PPC-1 cable between Madang and Sydney, had been affected by the earthquake, resulting in service disruptions in the MOMASE, Highlands, and New Guinea Islands regions.

Parts of the Highlands Highway, which connects the port city of Lae to the Highlands provinces, have been damaged. Areas along Markham and Ramu in Eastern Highlands are especially affected.

The commercial airports of Lae-Nazdab and Goroka remain operational. No significant damages have been reported to the runways or terminals.

Preliminary feedback from aerial reconnaissance being conducted by Mission Aviation Fellowship indicate visible slides in the Nankina area and that some are still actively slipping. Landslides have also bee reported along the Finisterre Range in Rai Coast district, Madang, near the epicentre of the earthquake.

The Government’s geohazards authority noted that this earthquake has a broader impact, especially on dwellings made from light or unreinforced materials, from landslips and liquefaction, and not as much severe impact on buildings in urban centres.

RESPONSE

The Prime Minister held a press conference at 3:00 p.m. local time to announce that the COVID hotline (1800200) will be appropriated for people affected by the earthquake to call to report damages and impacts.
Initial assessments are still being conducted by provincial disaster management teams in Madang, Morobe, and Eastern Highlands provinces, including to verify deaths, injuries, and damages to infrastructure. In the coming days the National Disaster Centre will compile initial reports to determine an interim response plan.

Mission Aviation Fellowship have begun conducting aerial reconnaissance to complete geo-synched imagery of the area surrounding the epicentre.