Papua New Guinea earthquake: Strong aftershock rocks country as it struggles to provide aid

Papua New Guinea situated to the north of Australia was struck by a 6.5-magnitude tremor on Feb 26. This resulted in landslides that blocked roads, caused power outages and cut off villages killing at least 67 people which have now increased to 100 people. Despite the fact that half a million people have been affected by the disaster as aftershocks claim more lives, there has been a slow delivery of emergency help which has angered the people there.

People in Papua New Guinea have threatened the workers and government officials because of the slow delivery of emergency help even though it has been 10 days since the quake struck the place.

On Friday ( March 9, 2018),  Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O'Neill said that the death toll because of the earthquake has topped 100 with thousands injured and will take years to put everything in place.

On Friday yet another powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit off the Papua New Guinea coast. The quake struck at 3:39 am local time at a depth of 15 km about 20 km offshore of the New Ireland town of Taron, the US Geological Survey said.

A spokesman for the Port Moresby-based National Disaster Management Office said there were no immediate reports of damage but regional disaster management teams would carry out assessments later in the day.

Also Read:6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Papua New Guinea