At least four people are dead after a magnitude-7.6 earthquake in eastern Papua New Guinea, which also injured others and damaged property and essential infrastructure.
- The earthquake hit about 67km east of Kainantu and 80km north-west of Lae at about 9:45am local time
- The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear as the earthquake hit a remote location
- The United Nations says at least four deaths have been reported
The quake hit about 67 kilometres east of Kainantu and 80km north-west of Lae, in the eastern Papua New Guinea region, at about 9:45am on Sunday.
It was felt about 500km away in the capital of Port Moresby.
The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear because it hit a remote location.
Earthquakes are common in the country which sits on the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.
The PNG government has not released an official death toll but the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Asia and the Pacific says at least four deaths and four injuries have been reported.
A landslide in Rai Coast, Madang, killed one person, with three others buried in Wau, Morobe, a report from the OCHA's PNG disaster management team said.
The regional power grid, internet cables, and the regional highway were damaged but the airport remained operational.
Some of the injured were airlifted for immediate treatment.
Papua New Guinea residents shared images and videos on social media of cracked roads, damaged buildings and cars, and items falling off supermarket shelves.
The UN report said people were injured by falling structures and debris, and there was damage to some health centres, homes, rural roads and highways.
State-backed communications provider PNG DataCo also reported its undersea cable network had been affected, suffering widespread disruptions.
The US tsunami warning system issued an alert after the earthquake but later reported the danger had passed.
There was no immediate threat to Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
In 2018, a magnitude-7.5 quake rocked PNG's remote mountainous highlands, killing more than 100 people and damaging thousands of homes.