7.5 magnitude earthquake

Inu is a lakeside village along the Lake Kutubu.

Baiyo Baboro, a local there, said the earthquake rattled their area at around 3am on Monday morning, splitting the ground.  The lake water and river Mubi rose up, covering parts of the village.

Also submerged now is the Inu Primary School, Inu Sub-health Centre and the secondary school.

Villagers, students, teachers and other public servants in the area are cut off, stranded on this island.

Baboro said the tremors are still being felt and water is rising.

The two LNG trains at the PNG LNG plant near Port Moresby have been safely shut down following yesterday’s shut down of the Hides Gas Conditioning Plant and Hides well pads in Hela Province.

In a statement, EMPNG said: “We are continuing to work with our customers to minimise the impact.

“Evacuation of non-essential personnel from the Hides Conditioning Plant will continue today.

“Specialist engineers are also flying into Hides to join remaining personnel on site to assist with damage and repair assessments.

This was revealed in a press conference today, with representatives from provincial governments including member for Komo-Margarima, Manasseh Makiba, Governor for Gulf Chris Haiveta and National Disaster Office director, Marty Mose.

Director Mose stated that a team will be sent tomorrow to assess the situation and give accurate reports on the aftermath of the earthquake.

This team also includes a platoon from the PNG Defence Force.

The quake had a depth of 35 kilometres, hitting at about 4am local time, according to the USGS.

The quake struck in the heart of mainland PNG in Southern Highlands province.

According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the quake did not present a regional tsunami threat.

About a half an hour later, a second earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 struck in the same area. It had a depth of 39 kilometres.

PNG rests on the 'Ring of Fire', a known hotbed of seismic activity due to a tectonic plate that spans the Pacific.

Authorities are scrambling to assess damage and respond to reports of injuries after the first, 7.5 magnitude earthquake centred near Hanmer Springs.

"On the best information we have, there have been two fatalities," Mr Key told a media conference early this morning.

Earlier, police said one person had died in Kaikoura, where a house had collapsed in the earthquake.

Police said they were also trying to get to a property at Mt Lyford, north of Christchurch, where a second person is believed to have died.