Papua New Guinea earthquake destroys hundreds of homes — BenarNews

A powerful earthquake has struck Papua New Guinea, destroying hundreds of homes, an official said, as the Pacific island nation faces the effects of widespread flooding and deadly landslides.

The 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 40 km [25 miles] The cyclone struck at dawn on Sunday near Ambunti in East Sepik Province, according to the US Geological Survey, and was felt by residents of the northern and eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Marie Bonifacio, a doctor in Cainanto, about 400 kilometers away [249 miles] East of the epicenter, she said she woke up early to get ready to go to church when the quake struck.

“The building started swaying slowly and then more forcefully. “I slowly realized that this was a massive earthquake,” she told BenarNews. “It felt like the ground beneath you was unstable and would open at any moment. Feeling helpless and expecting the worst, she knelt down and prayed.

Alan Bird, governor of East Sepik Province, the epicenter of the quake, said on Sunday that the quake had destroyed 1,000 homes.

“We are still assessing the impact and compiling reports as I write this so the final number could be much higher,” he said in a statement. “Unfortunately we already have many victims.”

Photos posted on Facebook by the East Sepik Development Forum, a civil society discussion group, showed houses built on stilts in the village of Mamari collapsed into a tributary of the Sepik River.

Papua New Guinea, which makes up the eastern half of the giant island of New Guinea north of Australia, is exposed to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

It is also dealing with the effects of torrential rains and landslides that have killed about two dozen people over the past week, while tsunami waves have caused fresh water and food shortages for thousands of people in coastal areas. These natural disasters are in addition to the riots that caused economic damage to the capital, Port Moresby, in January, and dozens of deaths in a tribal war last month.

Papua New Guinea media reported on Monday that the central government has allocated 500 million kina ($132 million) for relief and recovery efforts following a series of natural disasters.

Prime Minister James Marape said the money would be taken from several government programs including a major road construction project, Connect PNG, as well as from donor countries, according to The National.

“This financial mobilization aims to ensure that support reaches the communities most in need without delay and reconstruction to the affected areas,” Marape said, according to the report.

“Papua New Guinea has been hit hard by earthquakes, floods caused by torrential rains, ensuing landslides, tidal surges, strong winds and more.”

Papua New Guinea, the most populous island nation in the Pacific, has large areas of rugged, mountainous terrain that, combined with limited government resources and inadequate roads and airports, makes responding to frequent natural disasters a challenge.

Byrd, the East Sepik governor, who was part of a failed attempt earlier this year to get Parliament to vote on a motion of no confidence in Marape, said the provincial government has already allocated funds to respond to the “multi-pronged disaster.”

“We cannot wait for anyone else to help us because many parts of the country are also facing flood damage at the same time as us,” he said.

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