Massive Earthquake of intensity 7.6 hits Papua New Guinea

Picture Courtesy: Mapbox

Earthquake of intensity 7.6 hit Papua New Guinea on Sunday, causing landslides, cracking roads and damaging buildings. The extent of damage is still not clear but as per photos emerging, debris strewn across highways and cracks opening up in roads.

According to reports, the epicentre of the earthquake was 90 below near Kainantu, a town with a population of roughly 8,500 people. There have been no reports of deaths and no official confirmation of the damage caused, but residents took to social media to post pictures of cracked roads, damaged cars and items falling off supermarket shelves, Reuters reported.

The US National Tsunami warning said that there is no immediate threat of Tsunami in the area. However, earlier in the day they said that Tsunami could be expected.

An earthquake of similar intensity hit the nation back in 2018 which killed 60 people and wounded 500. Papua New Guinea is vulnerable to earthquakes because it lies along the because it lies in the ‘Rings of Fire’ in the Pacific Ocean, where shifting tectonic plates push against each other, causing tremors.