At the time, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said Sunday's earthquake occurred in the remote East Sepik province in northern Papua New Guinea and was at a depth of 65 kilometers.
The earthquake that occurred in Papua New Guinea caused many houses to be flooded with floodwaters across East Sepik province. Photo: ABC
“So far, about 1.000 homes have been lost,” East Sepik Governor Allan Bird said, adding that rescue teams were “still assessing the impact” from an earthquake that “damaged most areas of the province".
Dozens of villages nestled on the banks of the country's Sepik River faced massive flooding when the earthquake struck early Sunday morning.
Provincial police commander Christopher Tamari told AFP that authorities had recorded five deaths but the death toll "could be more". Photos taken after the earthquake showed damaged wooden houses collapsing into surrounding knee-high floodwaters.
Earthquakes frequently occur in Papua New Guinea, which is located on the "Ring of Fire" - an arc of intense tectonic activity stretching across Southeast Asia and throughout the Pacific basin.
Although they rarely cause widespread damage in sparsely populated highland forests, they can cause devastating landslides.
Many of the island nation's 9 million citizens live outside major towns and cities, where difficult terrain and lack of roads can hamper search and rescue efforts.
Huy Hoang (Ndtv, AFP, Reuters)
