Transcript
Rescue efforts have been hampered by landslides, which have wiped out roads and cellphone towers, while poor weather and runway damage has hampered relief from the air.
The Papua New Guinea government has declared a state of emergency and deployed troops to the region, neighbouring provinces have marshalled and volunteers, while supplies have been donated by aid agencies and the Australian government.
One of the worst-affected areas is the town of Tari, the capital of Hela province with some 10,000 residents, which is close to the epicentre.
The scale of the damage there remained unclear for most of last week, but phone services are starting to come back on line.
Isaac Pulupe is a resident of Tari. He says the devastation is immense. Most buildings have collapsed, including schools and the hospital.
"Most people have been traumatised emotionally from all that is happening and the continual evacuations going on. Most people, their gardens and even homes have been collapsed."
Mr Pulupe says most of the town is living in tents, under tarpaulins, or ramshackle huts built from the rubble, which sometimes topple in the near constant aftershocks.
He says there is no power, food supplies are running out, and water has been contaminated by landslides further upstream.
A week after the earthquake, the town - which is completely cut off from the outside world, with roads blocked by collapsed mountainsides, and the airport's runway ruptured -- is yet to see any aid.
"We've heard that there are international charity organisations committed to come to help us, but we haven't seen them yet. We only have the provincial government team trying to go around doing the assessments."
Some 50-or-so-kilometres away Melvin Levongo is in the Ialibu Pangia district of Southern Highlands.
He says food is starting to become a critical issue there, too, with people foraging through whatever remnants of their food gardens remain. In stores, the price of whatever is left has skyrocketed.
However, he says aid is starting to come in, with an Australian Hercules offloading supplies on Friday. But with most roads cut off, getting it to those who need it will be a massive challenge.
"The affected areas are really in the remote interior places so, you know, geographically it's going to be really challenging for the relief workers. They're planning on spreading the relief supplies via helicopter because landslides and all these things - road access is completely difficult."
The Secretary General of the PNG Red Cross, Unvenama Rova, says the worst-affected areas are four districts across the Hela-Southern Highlands border, near Tari.
He says some roads are slowly opening up, and aid is trickling in - although, owing to the remote and rugged terrain, it could be some time before everywhere is reached and a full picture emerges.
"We are still trying to work out the best way. We have our Mt Hagen branch as our operations centre and we are mobilising volunteers from there. We will go, one group to Tari, Hela Province, and the other group to Southern Highlands."
For Isaac Pulupe and the stranded residents of Tari, that can't come soon enough.
"Let the world know that we are really in a very desperate need and Hela needs people."