Several dead in PNG during heavy rains

Transcript

At least six people in Papua New Guinea are reported to have died as a result of landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains in recent weeks.

The Post Courier newspaper is reporting deaths in Chimbu and the Western Highlands.

It says 200 homes have been destroyed, and bridges have been swept away in Oro and West New Britain provinces.

The World Vision PNG response manager says disaster authorities and humanitarian organisations are scrambling to assess the extent of the damage so distribution of relief supplies can begin.
 
Bonie Belonio told Koroi Hawkins he believes the rains may have taken many people by surprise after the long drought.

BONIE BELONIO: The rains have practically come heavily during the past. I think the past three weeks here in most parts of the Morobe and Madang area and some parts of the Highlands Region.

KOROI HAWKINS: And what effects are you seeing from that heavy rain?

BB: Well basically there is reports of heavy flooding, in fact there are even reports of landslides and there were like six people killed here in Morobe Province because of the landslides. Most of the communities here are, you know, as expected living along the rivers. With the drought that has happened over the past year, the heavy rains have actually all experienced run-off so inundation is pretty much a situation in which communities are confronted with at this point in time here.

KH: Has this taken people by surpise? It seems like you are talking about a drought and then all this rain all of a sudden.

BB: People are not really prepared for the heavy rains. They know that the rains will come but in terms of the volume and the amount of rain that has come it is a bit extreme.

KH: And what work are you doing? Are you still in the information gathering stage in terms of who is affected and in which areas?

BB: Basically what we are doing now is we are completing the assessment stage and moving into a distribution of water containers, water purification tablets. Because I think that is what is needed at this point in time. Now there is always the fear of people get diseases, you know waterborne diseases out of these polluted water. Out of these muddy water, so we are really on a rush of getting into affected communities to distribute the water containers and water purification and then do quick awareness raising and education on having to really ensure that the water that they drink are purified and treated.

KH: And are there any initial numbers of figures of how many people in how many provinces are affected by the extreme wet weather?

BB: Certainly at this point in time I think we are still gathering information we would really know more of this information when we have got the next disaster management team meeting, I think by tomorrow.