National Disaster Centre Director Laso Mana has placed coastal communities along Papua New Guinea’s northern mainland coastline and the New Guinea Islands on alert following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Philippines region.
Mr. Mana said in a statement on Monday that assessments were underway to determine whether the earthquake could generate tsunami waves that may affect Papua New Guinea, with monitoring being conducted in consultation with regional tsunami warning centers.
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As a precaution, Provincial Disaster Offices, district administrations, maritime authorities and coastal communities have been advised to remain vigilant and closely monitor official updates over the next four hours while authorities continue to assess the situation.
Mr. Mana said the National Disaster Centre remained in close coordination with the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory (POMGO) and would issue further advisories if the threat level changed, urging the public to remain calm and rely only on official information.
Based on information currently available, there is a potential for tsunami waves to be generated by an earthquake of this magnitude. Large earthquakes in the Pacific region have the potential to generate tsunami waves that may travel long distances across the ocean.
Mr. Mana said all Provincial Disaster Offices, district administrations, maritime authorities and coastal communities should remain vigilant and continue monitoring official updates issued by the NDC and POMGO.
He said the National Disaster Centre would continue to closely monitor developments with POMGO and regional tsunami monitoring centers and would issue additional advisories should the threat level change.
Mr. Mana urged the public to avoid spreading rumors and to rely only on information released through official government channels.
“The safety and wellbeing of our people remain our highest priority,” he said.
The advisory was issued jointly by the National Disaster Centre and the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory following the major earthquake in the Philippines region.