Posted on 19 September 2022
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Eastern Highlands province, In Papua New Guinea, on 11 September 2022.
Early information from the affected area indicated 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.
- Latest reports put the death toll at 12.
- A hoax message claiming that government disaster authorities predicted another devastating earthquake would occur spread rapidly on social media platforms and accounted for the bulk of calls received by the hotline.
- Electricity and communications remain disrupted.
- The Ramu hydropower station near Kainantu City (Eastern Highlands Province) was damaged, resulting in a total system outage across the Provinces of Eastern Highlands, Madang, and Morobe.
- National authorities are providing the impact and damage assessment.