(Fixes typo in headline)
* Toll expected to rise as rescuers reach far-flung villages
* Landslides prevent injured reaching hospitals
* Roads, runways, phone lines knocked out
By Tom Westbrook
SYDNEY, March 1 (Reuters) - The death toll from thestrongest earthquake to strike Papua New Guinea's ruggedinterior in almost a century has climbed to 31 and wouldprobably rise further, officials said on Thursday, as damage toroads, runways and phone lines slowed relief efforts.
Remote hamlets closest to the epicentre of the 7.5 magnitudequake in the Southern Highlands were buried, killing 13 people,said James Justin, a research officer at the Ministry ofPetroleum and Energy in Port Moresby in an email, citing atwo-way radio call from a mission station in the region.
Most of the other confirmed fatalities were in or around theprovincial capital of Mendi and the town of Tari 40 km (25miles) from the epicentre, where aftershocks continue to be feltand people afraid their homes may yet collapse have beensleeping in their yards. is completely shut down," Mark Mendai, head of thedistrict's Development Authority told Reuters by phone.
"All the water tanks have been turned over and at the momentpeople are suffering a lack of fresh water, all the rivers aredirty," he said. "The runway has some cracks, the districtoffices are all spoiled, all our roads within Tari are cracked,blocking travelling traffic."
A spokesman from the country's National Disaster Centre saida preliminary damage assessment from the quake, which struck themountainous Southern Highlands some 560 km (350 miles) northwestof the capital, Port Moresby, was still incomplete.
Australia has promised tarpaulins, water purificationtablets, and water containers, and despatched a military C-130transport plane to assist with aerial surveillance.
Pictures showed collapsed buildings in Mendi and residentsusing shovels to clear away landslides.
That left those injured in villages to the west unable toreach the general hospital, where wards were largely emptyexcept for long-term patients, Wendy Tinaik, assistant to thehospital's director, said by phone.
Miners and oil and gas companies were also assessing damageto their infrastructure, including a 700-km (435-mile) gaspipeline that connects to a coastal liquefaction plant, but werehampered by bad weather according to Oil Search Ltd OSH.AX . damage shut the region's biggest airfield at Komo,built to supply remote Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) XOM.AX facilities,though bush airstrips were accessible and Mission AviationFellowship (MAF) evacuated four people to Mt Hagen.
"As we flew and photographed all that we could see, weprayed for those below that had been affected," said Connie-LouAebischer from MAF.
"The majority of the landslides were in what appeared to belargely uninhabited mountainous regions, or at leastsporadically inhabited, which was the saving grace through thisongoing instability in the earth."
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http://tmsnrt.rs/2ow1YLR
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