User:Quake1234/sandbox4
 Collapsed buildings in Table Town, Daru | |
| UTC time | 2024-04-28 22:52:04 |
|---|---|
| Local date | 29 April 2024 |
| Local time | 08:52 |
| Magnitude | 6.2 Ms 6.3 Mww |
| Depth | 19 km (12 mi) |
| Epicenter | 9°08′53″S 143°14′17″E / 9.148°S 143.238°E |
| Type | Intraplate |
| Areas affected | New Guinea Prefecture, Papua |
| Max. intensity | MMI VIII–IX |
| Aftershocks | 80 ≥Mw 4.0 Largest: Mw 5.6 |
| Casualties | 542 dead, 15,471 injured, 10 missing |
A Ms 6.2 or Mw 6.3 earthquake struck 8 km (5.0 mi) southeast of Daru, Fly River Province, Papua on 28 April 2024 at 22:52 UTC (08:52 PGT on 29 April).[1] Poor building construction and high population densities led to a very high number of casualties for the magnitude of the quake, with 542 dead and nearly 4,100 injured.[2] It is the deadliest earthquake in Papua since 2022.[3]
Tectonic setting
The primary tectonic feature of the 1,200 km (750 mi) island chain is the New Hebrides Subduction Zone, the convergent boundary of the Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates. Along the Wadati–Benioff zone, earthquake activity has been observed as shallow, intermediate, and deep-focus events at depths of up to 700 km (430 mi). Volcanic activity is also present along this north-northwest trending and northeast-dipping oceanic trench.[4]
While much of the island arc experiences intermediate-depth earthquakes along a Wadati–Benioff zone that dips steeply at 70°, the area adjacent to the d'Entrecasteaux Ridge does not. There is a corresponding gap in seismicity that occurs below 50 km (31 mi) where it intrudes into the subduction zone from the west. According to the NUVEL-1 global relative plate motion model, convergence is occurring at roughly 8 cm (3.1 in) per year. The uncertainty, which also affects the Tonga arc, is due to the influence of spreading at the North Fiji Basin.[5]
Earthquake
The United States Geological Survey reported a moment magnitude of 6.3 and focal depth of 11 km (6.8 mi) for the earthquake, making it the largest earthquake in Fly Province since 2018 and the largest ever recorded within 50 km (31 mi) of Daru.[6] The focal mechanism of the mainshock corresponded to shallow strike-slip faulting along an north-northeast or south-southwest trending plane.[7]
Intensity
While the USGS reported a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), the PGA recorded an intensity of MMI VII-VIII in the Daru area, the highest seismic intensity ever recorded in the city; 46% of the city's 5,800 seismic sensors recorded MMI VIII, while 50% recorded MMI VII and 4% MMI VI.[8] Outside Daru, few towns recorded strong shaking as most of Fly Province is sparsely populated.[9]
| Intensity | Province | Location(s) | Population exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMI VIII | Fly | Daru | 2,476k |
| MMI VII | Fly | 2,384k | |
| MMI VI | Fly | Oriomo, Kiwai | 557k |
| MMI V | Fly | Gogodala, Morehead | 983k |
Impact
Daru
At least 1,270 people died, including 358 children;[11] 794 people died on Bristow Island, 328 died in Daru City, 100 died in Dorogari and 48 died in Table Town.[12] Most of the deaths were caused by collapsing houses.[13] A further 15,458 people were injured, 10 were missing and 229,366 others were displaced.[14] Many students were killed and dozens more were injured by falling debris at their schools.[15] At least 27,434 houses and 343 buildings collapsed while 35,194 structures were damaged in the city.[16]
Power outages affected more than 766,000 homes, of which 90% were restored by May 2.[17] The PGA said the extent of damage to homes and buildings was still being assessed,[18] but described the damage as "massive".[19] A shopping mall collapsed.[20][21] Two government buildings, 524 schools, three hospitals, 13 offices, 144 religious buildings and a boarding school were damaged.[22][23] On Bristow Island, the epicenter's location, 794 people were killed, including 80 by a coastal landslide which destroyed two villages.[24] In Table Town, an urban district near the city center, 12 buildings, including a six-story apartment, collapsed, killing 48 people.[25] Two people were killed and another 40 were injured after a factory partially collapsed.[26]
Elsewhere
At least 681 homes, six schools and 10 churches were damaged in Kiwai. No deaths were recorded but 11 people were injured and 232 residents were displaced.[27] In Gogodala, two schools and 89 houses were damaged, and one person was injured.[28] In Morehead, one person was injured while 83 homes and three schools were damaged.[29]
Aftermath
Electricity was cut from Daru to prevent further power outages.[30] The injured were hospitalized in four hospitals across Daru.[31] Due to the large number of injured arriving at Daru Provincial Hospital, a field hospital was constructed in the parking space.[32]
Survivors in Daru constructed makeshift tents in the open space or their yards, mostly in rural suburbs of the city. On 30 April, a survivor said they were still self-dependent because no assistance have been given.[33] For fear of aftershocks, residents did not return to their homes. In the suburb of Dorogari, 150 residents spent the night under a pavilion. Others slept along roadsides or in public fields and parks.[34] Food was still unavailable on the morning of 30 April.[35]
On 30 April, the PGA established 2,000 large tents in Daru.[36] Ready-to-eat food items and a public kitchen was also supplied.[37] Thirty five personnel including five health professionals from Port Moresby International Hospital visited the affected area. The base also supplied food, medicine, kitchen appliances and logistics.[38] President James Marape announced that 9,000 members of the Papua Defence Force would be deployed to Fly Province to assist in disaster relief efforts.[39] Aid offers from India, Australia and the United States were accepted by the Papuan government.[40]
According to [Marape, buildings and houses that were destroyed or badly damaged will be reconstructed with earthquake-resistant guidelines;[41] houses that suffered minor to moderate damage are expected to be repaired instead.[42]