The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.9 Earthquake at a depth of 40.2 km,approximately 38 km to the northeast of the town of Ambunti in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, slightly after 6.20 am Local time on Sunday 24 March 2024 (slightly after 8.20 pm on Saturday 23 March GMT). Six people have been confirmed dead following the event,with several more injured, and around a thousand homes damaged or destroyed across the province.
The north coast of East Sepik Province is located on the southern margin of the North Bismarck Plate, close to its boundary with the Australian Plate, which underlies most of the Papuan mainland. The North Bismarck Plate is being subducted beneath the Australian Plate along the New Guinea Trench on the north coast of the island. This is not a smooth process, with the rocks sticking together, then moving sharply as the pressure builds up enough to break them apart, which can also lead to Earthquakes in the region.
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