2018 Papua New Guinea earthquake
On 26 February 2018, at 3:44 a.m. local time (25 February, 17:44 UTC), an earthquake of 7.5 moment magnitude struck in Hela Province, Papua New Guinea. The earthquake's epicenter was 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the town of Komo. The intensity of the earthquake was IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale.[1] At least 31 people were killed and a further 300 were injured.[2][3]
 USGS shakemap for the event | |
  | |
| UTC time | 2018-02-25 17:44:44 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 611709178 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | 26 February 2018 |
| Local time | 03:44:44 |
| Magnitude | 7.5 Mw |
| Depth | 23.4 km (14.5 mi) |
| Epicenter | 6°04′05″S 142°46′05″E / 6.068°S 142.768°E |
| Type | Thrust fault |
| Areas affected | Papua New Guinea, Indonesia |
| Total damage | Building and infrastructure damage, sinkholes, landslides |
| Max. intensity | IX (Violent) |
| Landslides | Yes |
| Aftershocks | 6.7 Mw 6.2 Mw 6.0 Mw 6.0 Mw 6.0 Mw |
| Casualties | 160 dead (main shock) 11 dead (6.0 aftershock on March 4) 25 dead (6.7 aftershock on March 6) 4 dead (6.3 aftershock on April 7) |
The main shock struck at a depth of 35 km below the northern slopes of Mt. Sisa, and was followed by a 5.5 Mw aftershock less than 30 minutes later.[1]
A state of emergency was declared on March 1 for the provinces of Hela, Southern Highlands, Enga and Western, together with a promise of 450 million kina (about 136 million US$) to help deal with the aftermath of the quake.[4]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "M.7.5 - 89km SSW of Porgera, Papua New Guinea". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ↑ "Landslip Blocks Mine's Access Road". The Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake rattles remote Papua New Guinea". The Hindu. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ Gorethy, Kenneth (2018-03-01). "State of Emergency Declared". Papua and New Guinea Post-Courier. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
