Death toll ‘unknown’

By MALUM NALU in Tari
IT may take a while before an exact figure on the death toll from Monday’s 7.5 magnitude earthquake is known, according to the National Disaster Centre.
Centre director Martin Mose, who visited Tari, in Hela, to see for himself the extent of the damage, told The National that he still did not have an exact casualty figure.
On Monday, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill put the figure at 20 but said there were more yet to be confirmed.
Mose visited Tari in Hela where he saw the damage caused by the earthquake.
While in Tari, Mose and visitors experienced an aftershock at around noon which made people to run.
“The magnitude of this earthquake is something that they have not experienced in the past,” he said.
“There is so much damage caused to properties, for example, the courthouse in Tari is totally destroyed.
“It’s going to cost a fair bit of Government funding to restore these.”
Mose’s team has visited Mendi, Hides, Komo and Tari.
“We have to tell the people that they will experience more aftershocks over the next couple of days,” he said.