PAPUA NEW GUINEA – More than 30 people are believed to have been killed and whole villages buried by landslides in Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck yesterday.

Severe damage to phone networks and roads from the powerful earthquake is hindering efforts to assess the extent of the destruction, although officials in the remote central region feared dozens of people may have been injured or killed.

The Post Courier newspaper reported Hela Provincial Administrator William Bando saying at least 13 people were killed in the capital of neighbouring Southern Highlands province, Mendi.

Eighteen others were believed to have been killed elsewhere in Southern Highlands.

He said the quake was a disaster on a scale he hasn’t experienced before.

Authorities said more than 300 people were believed injured and many properties were destroyed during the quake.

A police spokesman said there were also reports of entire hillsides coming down and whole villages being buried by landslides.

PNG police said more than 400,000 people in four different provinces may be impacted by yesterday’s 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

Police spokesman Dominic Kakas said the quake and its aftershocks have caused widespread movement of land in the provinces of Southern Highlands, Hela, Enga and Western Province.

He said reports are filtering through of extensive damage.

“Roads blocked, landslips, entire mountains coming down, from reports some villages have been covered. The telephone line towers have been damaged.”

Kakas said there had been no communication at all from the capital of Hela province, Tari, a township which has a population of over 8000 people and is about 30 kilometres from the quake’s epicentre.

The US Geological Survey says there have been over 300 significant aftershocks since the initial 7.5-magnitude earthquake.

Geophysicist Rafael Abreu said the strongest aftershock was a magnitude 6.2 quake.

He said computer modelling for the original quake estimated significant casualties and over US$100 million worth of damage.

Abreu said the earthquake was coded as an “orange” event meaning it was very significant.

A communication blackout in areas worst affected is severely hampering relief efforts.

The acting disaster co-ordinator for Hela Province Barclay Tenza said most major roads had also been cut off by landslips.

Tenza said the main needs at the moment were shelter and clean drinking water.

“We cannot communicate all – the powers are cut off. Reports are sketchy. Road network into Mendi has been cut off. The Highlands Highway has been cut off. And other feeder roads within the province also cut off.”

In the Western Province, mining infrastructure belonging to the Ok Tedi mining operationhas been damaged.

PNG Resource Governance Coalition spokesperson Martyn Namorong said the damage to pipes carrying copper concentrate and mining waste has raised serious concerns about toxic spills in the area.

- PNC sources