7.6 earthquake jolts parts of New Guinea, kills 5

Monday, September 12, 2022

At least five people were killed and several households were damaged after a massive earthquake struck Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Sunday. The 7.6 magnitude quake struck at a depth of 90 kilometres near Kainantu town.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake hit at 9:46 am local time at a depth of 90 kilometers (56 miles).

While the extent of the damage remains unclear, a video shared on social media showed cracked roads, damaged cars and debris strewn across highways.

The UN informed that people had been injured by falling structures or debris, and there was damage to some health centres, homes, rural roads and highways.

Papua New Guinea is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, to the east of Indonesia and north of eastern Australia. It sits on the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where much of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic activity occurs.

The Prime Minister of PNG, James Marape, stated that the earthquake was “massive” and told people to be cautious. He added that the national and provincial disaster agencies, as well as leaders, had been asked to assess the scale of damage and injuries to people.

Earlier, the US Geological Survey issued a tsunami warning but, subsequently said that the threat has now passed.

NOAA advised there was no tsunami threat for the region.

« Back to Page

• Winter roaring back, 3 snowstorms possible in Michigan before end of January

• NOAA’s satellites capture record-breaking wildfire images across Alaska

• Aurora Borealis likely to be visible across continental US, Europe on Saturday