Papua
New Guinea sent troops and rescue workers Monday to respond to a
powerful earthquake in the Pacific nation's mountainous interior, with
unconfirmed reports of fatalities and warnings of aftershocks and
landslides.
Assessment
teams were heading to affected areas near the 7.5-magnitude quake's
epicentre, which the US Geological Survey said was some 90 kilometres
(55 miles) south of Porgera in Enga province.
"It
is advisable to stay out of multi-story buildings, to be aware of the
potential of landslides, and to be prepared to move to open ground in
the event that an aftershock is felt," the chief secretary to the
government, Isaac Lupari, said in a statement.
The
tremor hit at a depth of 35 kilometres around 3:45 am local time (1745
GMT Sunday), US seismologists said, adding that there was no tsunami
threat.
The
region is home to oil and gas production. ExxonMobil PNG said buildings
at its Hides Gas Conditioning Plant were damaged but all its staff were
"safe and accounted for", with non-essential employees to be evacuated.
Source: Yahoo News
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