MELBOURNE, Australia -The head of the South Pacific island nation and news media reported that a landslide that buried a village in a remote, mountainous area of Papua New Guinea on Friday is thought to have killed over 100 people. An emergency response has been launched.
Around three in the morning, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that a landslide had struck Kaokalam village in Enga province, which is located roughly 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby.
Although the number of deaths has not been confirmed by the government, residents reported that it was more than 100. According to the villagers, the death toll might be significantly higher.
James Marape, the prime minister, stated that authorities were taking action and that he would make available any information regarding the damage and casualties.
I haven’t been completely informed about the circumstances yet. However, Marape added in a statement, “I offer my sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the landslide disaster in the early hours of this morning.”
“We are bringing in disaster managers, the PNG Defense Force, and the Department of Works and Highways to begin relief efforts, body recovery, and infrastructure reconstruction,” he continued.
The closest neighbor and most generous donor of foreign aid to Papua New Guinea, Australia, stated that their government was prepared to assist.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed on social media, “We send our heartfelt sympathies to the people of PNG following the landslide at Kaokalam village.”
“The devastation and loss of life are heartbreaking,” she continued. “Australia is prepared to support relief and recovery efforts as friends and partners.”
Social media videos showed locals extricating bodies from under trees and rocks.
In Porgera, a town in the same province close to the Porgera Gold Mine, Elizabeth Laruma, the director of a women’s business association, said that homes were leveled as a mountainside gave way.
“The entire village has gone down, and it happened when people were still asleep in the early hours,” Laruma told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “I’m assuming that there are more than 100 people buried beneath the earth.”
She claimed that there were worries regarding the town’s fuel and supply of commodities because the landslide had shut the road between Porgera and the settlement.
Ninga Role, a villager who was out when the landslide occurred, estimates that at least four of his family perished.
There are some enormous stones, flora, and trees. The structures fell,” Role remarked. “It’s getting harder to find the bodies because of these things.”
ABC reporter Belinda Kora, who is based in Port Moresby, stated that since the major road was closed, the only means of visiting the community, which is located in the Highlands, a rugged interior region, was by helicopter.
over 800 different languages, Papua New Guinea is a multicultural, developing country comprising primarily subsistence farmers. Outside of the bigger cities, there aren’t many roadways.
It is also the most populated country in the South Pacific, with 10 million residents, after Australia, which has over 27 million.
56% of the country’s social media users live outside of Port Moresby, where there are inadequate telecommunications. Merely 1.66 million individuals nationwide utilize the internet, and 85% of the populace resides in rural regions.