At least 67 people were killed by the initial quake in the Pacific nation’s mountainous interior on February 26, according to the Red Cross, with 500 injured and 17,000 displaced. Aid has yet to reach isolated parts of the Southern Highlands, Western, Enga and Hela provinces, with landslides, ruined roads and dozens of aftershocks hampering efforts. International Red Cross PNG country head Udaya Regmi added: “We are anxious to reach communities while there is a lull in what is usually a season of heavy rain. There were no immediate reports of any fresh damage from the 6.7-magnitude earthquake — the strongest aftershock so far — that rattled the region early Wednesday morning. Australian officials based in the country have said it was the biggest earthquake to hit the highland region in a century.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 07, 2018 00:56 UTC