By Alasdair Pal

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Three people were killed and over 1,000 homes destroyed after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Sunday, local and Australian media reported on Monday.

Sunday's quake hit the remote East Sepik province in the north of the country at the depth of 65 km (40 miles), the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said at the time.

Local newspaper the Papua New Guinea Post Courier said on Monday three people had been killed, with reports of houses and bridges being destroyed.

East Sepik province Governor Allan Bird told Australian state broadcaster ABC on Monday regional authorities initially estimated the earthquake destroyed 1,000 homes, in a region that had already been inundated by floods.

"It was the earthquake that no-one was prepared for. That would have caused the most significant damage now," he said.

Papua New Guinea straddles the Pacific's "Ring of Fire", a region known for frequent earthquakes.