Catastrophes - Help is coming gradually following a landslide incident in Papua New Guinea.
Casualties are feared to be in the hundreds due to a landslide in the distant mountains of Papua New Guinea. The small village of Yambali was believed to have been completely buried under mountains of soil, according to the local newspaper "Post Courier." The landslide affected several villages in the province of Enga that took place around 3 am on Friday morning (local time).
At least 300 people may have been trapped, as reported by the media, citing regional government officials. More than 1,000 houses and 5,000 pigs were also buried. At the moment, official casualty numbers are unavailable.
Over 100 deaths were estimated by local residents, but that number may be just the tip of the iceberg. Over 3,000 people lived in the affected area, and more bodies are feared. Footage from the scene revealed villagers climbing over large rocks and pulling victims from under the debris, but only a few bodies have been found so far.
An aid organization, CARE Australia, visited the scene of the accident on Saturday and found that access to the village was blocked. Roads were initially passable by helicopter only, and the ground was still shifting. This caused concern that more landslides could occur.
Regional emergency services were en route to the disaster area to provide medical and food assistance to locals. The shortage of heavy equipment at the scene prompted locals to use axes and machetes to try to uncover buried victims on Friday.
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape sent civil protection and military personnel to help. Australia and the United States also declared their countries ready to assist.
The nation of Papua New Guinea, which is located north of Australia, is no stranger to heavy rainfall as it sits near the equator. The island nation, with a population of ten million inhabitants, is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the world's most seismically active areas. Earthquakes are a regular occurrence, with a recent 4.5-magnitude quake elsewhere in the country just a few days prior. It remains unclear whether the earthquakes have any connection to the current landslide.
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Source: www.stern.de
