Bird said there are "several" and so far around 1000 homes have been lost, while they continue assessing the impact of damage. Photo: Facebook / Patrick Zonk Nek
Village leaders are continuing to assess the damage in Papua New Guinea's East Sepik Province, after a magnitude seven earthquake which has now been downgraded to a 6.9 earthquake reportedly killed five people.
A State of Emergency has been declared in the province.
Nine people have been missing since Tuesday near Madang town after their boat capsized and another seven are missing along the New Ireland coast after their boat capsized in rough seas.
Local media is reporting at least one-thousand homes have been destroyed.
The worst affected areas are near the Sepik river: Angoram, Wosera Gawi and Ambunti-Drekikir.
East Sepik Governor Allan Bird says access to clean drinking water, shelter and food is a concern.
Field officer at PNG's Cocoa Board, Freddy Pinga spoke with Pacific Waves host Susana Suisuiki.
