The affected area covers the size of three to four football fields, the village was home to almost 4,000 people. Water is inaccessible in the affected area, power lines are down and villagers may have difficulty obtaining food.
The International Organization for Migration revised upwards on Sunday its estimate of the number of victims of a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, which now stands at more than 670.
Serhan Aktoprak, head of the UN migration agency’s mission to the South Pacific island nation, said that the revised assessment was based on calculations by Yambali village officialsabout 2 hours drive from Wabag, the provincial capital of Enga, according to which more than 150 houses were buried by Friday’s landslide. The previous estimate was 60 homes.
“They estimate that more than 670 people are currently underground”Mr. Aktoprak told the Associated Press.
Local authorities had initially estimated the death toll Friday at 100 or more. Sunday, only five bodies and the leg of a sixth victim had been found.
Rescue workers in Papua New Guinea were moving survivors to safer ground on Sunday, as tons of unstable earth and tribal warfarewhich occurs in the Highlands of the country, threatened the rescue effort.
The South Pacific island’s government is currently exploring the possibility of formally requesting additional international aid.
Teams have lost all hope of finding survivors under the earth and rubble, at a depth of 6 to 8 meters, Mr. Aktoprak said.
“People are waking up to the situation and so there is a significant level of mourning and distress.“, he added.
Authorities have set up evacuation centers on safer grounds on either side of the huge expanse of debris that covers an area the size of three or four football fields and has cut off the main highway. of the province.
“Working on the debris is very dangerous and the earth continues to slide”said Mr. Aktoprak.
The landslide hit Enga province, about 600 kilometers northwest of the capital Port Moresby, in the early hours of Friday morning. Residents stated that rocks and trees from a collapsing mountainside buried parts of the community.
“The terrain continues to slide, making operations very difficult” said Serhan Aktoprak, citing reports from IOM staff and others deployed from the provincial capital to the affected village.
Yambali lies along a road leading to the capital that is now blocked, hampering relief efforts.
He said the affected area covered the size of three to four football fields and the village was home to nearly 4,000 people.
Water is inaccessible in the affected area, power lines are down and villagers may have difficulty obtaining food.
“Immediate needs include shelter, non-food items such as blankets and sheets, food and drinking water“, specified Mr. Aktoprak.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said authorities were responding and he would provide information on the extent of the destruction and loss of life as soon as it became available.
“We are sending disaster officials, the PNG Defense Force and the Ministry of Works and Highways to begin relief operations, recovery of bodies and reconstruction of infrastructure” said Mr. Marape in a statement.
Australia, a close neighbor and the country’s largest aid provider, said the government was ready to provide relief.
“We send our sincere condolences to the people of Papua New Guinea following the landslide.”, said Foreign Minister Penny Wong. “The loss of life and destruction is devastating.”
Papua New Guinea is a diverse, developing, composed mainly of subsistence farmers and speaking 800 languages. There are few roads outside the big cities.
Telecommunications are poorparticularly outside of Port Moresby, where, according to government data, 56% of the country’s social media users reside. Only 1.66 million people in the country use the internet and 85% of the population lives in rural areas.
“The scale of this disaster is considerable”
Medical facilities were buried along with homes, several small businesses, a guesthouse, a school and a gas station, authorities said.
Justine McMahon, country director of humanitarian agency CARE International, said there were other health facilities in the area, the provincial government was sending medical staff and the World Health Organization was mobilizing staff. .
“There will be some support, but the area is so large that I think the situation will be quite difficult.”said Ms. McMahon. “The scale of this disaster is considerable.”
Although Papua New Guinea is in the tropics, theThe village is located 2,000 meters above sea levelwhere temperatures are significantly cooler.
Papua New Guinea Defense Minister Billy Joseph and director of the government’s National Disaster Center Laso Mana left Port Moresby by helicopter to Wabag on Sunday to get a first-hand perspective hand on what is needed.
Aktoprak expects that the government decides by Tuesday whether to formally request additional international aid.
The United States and Australia, a close neighbor and Papua New Guinea’s most generous foreign aid provider, are among the governments that have publicly said they are willing to do more to help responders.