Earthquake measuring 7.6 shakes up Papua New Guinea. All we know so far

An earthquake shook up Papua New Guinea measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, tearing the country from rock to rock, giving way to landslides, crashing houses, and severely ripping up a gas plant.

The "Ring of Fire" also runs through Papua New Guinea; therefore, this area is prone to earthquakes due to fault lines. The "ring" is the longest fault-line in the world and measures 40,000 kilometers int the Cocos and Nazca in the Philipines Sea Plate to the Pacific Plate. Numerous volcanoes dot the areas close to the 'ring". A tremor anytime is a common occurrence in the areas near the "ring". it's a blessing that there weren't any fatalities in the earthquake that occurred in Papua New Guinea.

It's a wonder that plenty of people flock to live in the area around the "ring" despite this. This is evident from so many populous cities coming up over the years in the "ring of fire". From Japan to Chile and up to the US West Coast is prone to frequent earthquakes. It is a fact that a tremor measuring almost the same as this time killed 60 people and wounded 500 in 2018.


The earthquake epicenter was near Kainantu, home to at least 8500 people. The official confirmation is yet to be done, but the photos and videos did the rounds of social media when the event unfolded. The highway was littered with rocks, and the authorities were working on its removal when reports last came in. People came and stood on the roads while the earthquake unfolded and waited for traffic flow to resume again. The area is mountainous and does have rocks rolling onto the streets whenever there is a shake-up.

There was a message doing the rounds of the Australian Red Cross claiming that 16 people were killed, but that is not correct. The figure was mixed up with an earlier earthquake that did occur previously.

The threat of a Tsunami is not there at all, and the earlier hazard stating the possibility of a tsunami stands withdrawn.

FAQs:
When was the last major earthquake, and where did it occur?
ANSWER: On November 12, 2017, Iran Iraq Border measured 7.3 magnitudes.

When was the last major tsunami?
ANSWER: December 26, 2004, along the rim of the Indian Ocean