The epicenter was 10 kilometers west of the town of Komo, deep in Papua New Guinea's central highlands. The maximum felt intensity reached IX on the Mercalli scale, classified as Violent. The shaking triggered landslides that buried homes and entire sections of hillside, while the ground itself opened up and sank in places, swallowing properties and gardens. Eighteen people died in the Bosavi-Kutubu area alone. Across the border in Indonesia's Papua province, the quake caused panic in Jayapura, the provincial capital. ExxonMobil's Hides gas field conditioning plant, situated just 8 kilometers from the epicenter, sustained damage to its administration buildings, living quarters, and mess hall. The company shut down operations and began evacuating non-essential personnel. Flights into Komo airfield were suspended until the runway could be surveyed for cracks.

The initial earthquake was devastating, but the aftershocks turned devastation into prolonged catastrophe. On March 4, a magnitude 6.0 aftershock triggered a landslide that buried the small village of Huya, killing eleven people. Three days later, a magnitude 6.7 aftershock killed twenty-five more. On April 7, a magnitude 6.3 tremor collapsed houses in Tari, killing four. Each new shock brought fresh landslides to slopes already destabilized by the main event, blocking roads that had just been cleared, destroying supplies that had just arrived. The sequence of powerful aftershocks, seven exceeding magnitude 6.0 over six weeks, made recovery not just difficult but dangerous. Workers clearing debris had to watch the hillsides above them as much as the rubble below.

A week after the main quake, International Red Cross officials estimated 150,000 people were in urgent need of emergency supplies. Food and clean water were the most desperate requirements, but reaching the affected communities was the greater challenge. Landslides had closed roads throughout the highlands, and the rugged terrain offered few alternatives. By March 15, UNICEF raised the estimate to 275,000 people needing urgent humanitarian assistance, including 125,000 children. Oil Search, Papua New Guinea's largest oil and gas exploration company, shut down production across the Southern Highlands. The first supply shipment reached Moro Airport on March 3, five days after the quake, beginning a relief effort that would rely heavily on helicopters to reach communities cut off by landslides.

Papua New Guinea's government declared a state of emergency across four provinces, later extending concern to Gulf Province when the earthquake's impact there became clear. Commerce and Industry Minister Wera Mori estimated reconstruction costs at 600 million kina, roughly 185 million US dollars. Australia committed three CH-47 Chinook helicopters and additional defence force personnel. New Zealand sent two C-130 Hercules aircraft loaded with hygiene kits, shelter supplies, and water containers. China donated 2.8 million kina. Israel delivered forty electricity generators. The Red Cross released $221,000 in emergency funds, while Santos Limited contributed $1.2 million to the Hela Provincial Hospital and aid agencies. Bank South Pacific donated one million kina. By March 16, total cash donations had reached 150 million kina, about 46 million US dollars, with the government committing roughly a third to humanitarian aid and the long, slow work of rebuilding roads through the broken highlands.