More than 2,000 people are buried under rubble after a devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea, according to the latest figures from the nation’s disaster agency.
The landslide occurred in the early hours of Friday morning, while people living in villages in the Maip-Mulitaka area in Enga province were asleep. The disaster has left entire villages under debris as deep as eight metres.
Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Centre told the United Nations more than 2,000 people are buried, with possible deaths at more than 670.
On Tuesday, the UN called for a virtual meeting of international governments to organise relief efforts in response to the landslide, as ongoing violence in the country is causing delays in getting disaster relief to the affected region. Tribal warfare in neighbouring villages means aid workers must travel in convoys at night time, escorted by military personnel – a 60km journey from the capital of the Enga province to the Maip-Mulitaka area.
Last night, Australia announced a $2.5 million aid package to send to Papua New Guinea for initial disaster relief, with plans to send technical experts to the affected area to assist in rescue and recovery efforts.
“We hold out hope for the missing and strength to those who are now so desperately searching in what is an unimaginable tragedy,” Anthony Albanese told parliament today.
“I want the people of PNG to know Australia is there for them and always will be.”
As of last night, only five bodies have been found beneath the earth, as residents continue to use spades, sticks and their bare hands to lift and shift the rubble from the landslide.
How women and children are being impacted
Michelle Higelin, the Executive Director of ActionAid, said she is “deeply concerned” by the death toll in the aftermath of the landslide, which she said is expected to exceed the current figure of 2,000.
“We are working through local partner HausKuk Initiative to support women’s leadership in the response effort, and particularly getting relief to affected communities,” Higelin said.
“We are hearing that the needs are huge with entire villages destroyed and the area remains dangerous to access with rocks continuing to fall.”
Angela Kearney, the UNICEF Country Representative, spoke on ABC News Breakfast this morning, describing the current situation in the aftermath of the landslide.
“All of their possessions are buried, so they’re in the same clothes that they managed to escape in, and it’s cold there at night and hot in the day,” she said.
Kearney said there are at least nine children who are now orphans as a result of the disaster.
“We want those orphans taken into good caring family homes… and maybe we need to give those homes a little extra help so that they can take on extra children,” Kearney said.
Kearney said UNICEF are also assisting women recovering from the landslide, providing “Dignity Kits” that include jerry cans to fill with water, reusable menstrual pads, soap, underwear, a whistle and a battery powered torch.
Worldwide, climate crises and disasters disproportionately affect women and children: 80 per cent of people displaced by climate change are women. Rates of food insecurity and sexual violence are increased during climate disasters.
Papua New Guinea has some of the worst rates of violence against women in the world: at least 60 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some point in their lives. This is double the global average.