Papua New Guinea

hello and a warm welcome to the program I'm casha Madera we're starting in Papa New Guinea where more than 2,000 people have been buried alive from a landslide which hit a remote Village well the country's National Disaster Center said in a letter to the UN that the landslide has caused major destruction to buildings food Gardens and has also

damaged the economy the main highway to poera mine has been completely blocked this Landslide hit anger province which is around 600 km Northwest of the capital Port mby it happened on Friday the country has urged for international assistance to help manage This Disaster well my colleague Katie Watson joins us live from Sydney so Katie just that a difficult news that 2,000 people have been killed in this Landslide there was certainly concern that the death hll would rise but it's important to emphasize that these are estimated figures as of Sunday about five uh bodies had been

recovered it's very difficult to get to the rescue site getting heavy machinery um there is also proving a challenge so villagers have been using shovels and sticks just to be able to get through the debris which in some places is as high as 8 MERS it's 8 m thick so you know these are still very much estimates based on how many houses uh were destroyed how

many people authorities think think were in them at the time and remember this was uh a landslide that hit around 3: in the morning a time when most people of course would have been sleeping um so there is concern of course of the the heavy death toll but still um numbers are very hard fi final numbers certainly um won't be coming through anytime soon but certainly this estimate um is a is a huge shock it's a massive number and of course the rescue mission is still very

much underway and talk us through that rescue mission because we understand it's it's a difficult area to read and it's been made even more difficult by uh local activities there that's right as you said it's about 600 kilometers from the capital it's a Highland area um that's not a stranger to landslides it's also not a stranger to um violence a few months

ago there was a massacre there's tribal violence that is there's concern that that is also hampering uh the rescue uh mission of course in terms of transporting people in and out of the area um doing it after dark is a security concern um but also just logistically getting uh equipment to this remote area uh getting assistance um there are humanitarian Aid agencies on the ground who are trying to help with food and water and shelter and and bedding um and also the the th

e disaster Center has said um has called on International Partners For assistance here in Australia for example the prime minister's already said that it's standing by ready to help where it can um so it's a question of you know how to get that help as quick quickly as possible uh because of course it's still uh far from from from under control especially in an area where there's still water and there's still concern about the land still sliding so concern about the land still sliding this

was an area where we we described the people as growing their own food as having food Gardens just how how much of an impact will this have on the local region given the destruction that we're seeing well papan is a very rural population many people do live you outside of the cities and in areas where they're growing their own their own food um and this is what we've seen is you know a huge area of houses and their Gardens and their their Farmland if you like there's completely uh wiped out and these people you know have obviously surviving on the on on on the land and that's wh

at they need to be able to sustain the communi which is why uh humanitarian you Aid agencies are trying to to try and you know help the the the community and many of the community that's been displaced people who've had to leave their homes because they're unsafe so we're still talking about a very a difficult situation for those survivors and of course those survivors are also looking um for for their loved ones in among the debris yes a very difficult situation Katie Watson as always thanks very much Katie"

"hello and a warm welcome to the program I'm casha Madera we're starting in Papa New Guinea where more than people have been buried alive from a landslide which hit a remote Village well the country's National Disaster Center said in a letter to the UN that the landslide has caused major destruction to buildings food Gardens and has also damaged the economy the main highway to poera mine has been completely blocked this Landslide hit anger province

which is around km Northwest of the capital Port mby it happened on Friday the country has urged for international assistance to help manage This Disaster well my colleague Katie Watson joins us live from Sydney so Katie just that a difficult news that people have been killed in this Landslide there was certainly concern that the death hll would rise but it's important to emphasize that these are estimated figures as of Sunday about five uh bodies had been recovered it'

s very difficult to get to the rescue site getting heavy machinery um there is also proving a challenge so villagers have been using shovels and sticks just to be able to get through the debris which in some places is as high as MERS it's m thick so you know these are still very much estimates based on how many houses uh were destroyed how many people

authorities think think were in them at the time and remember this was uh a landslide that hit around : in the morning a time when most people of course would have been sleeping um so there is concern of course of the the heavy death toll but still um numbers are very hard fi final numbers certainly um won't be coming through anytime soon but certainly this estimate um is a is a huge shock it's a massive number and of course the rescue mission is still very much underway

and talk us through that rescue mission because we understand it's it's a difficult area to read and it's been made even more difficult by uh local activities there that's right as you said it's about kilometers from the capital it's a Highland area um that's not a stranger to landslides it's also not a stranger to um violence a few months ago there was a massacre there's tribal violence that is there's concern that that is also hampering uh the rescue uh mission of course in terms of

transporting people in and out of the area um doing it after dark is a security concern um but also just logistically getting uh equipment to this remote area uh getting assistance um there are humanitarian Aid agencies on the ground who are trying to help with food and water and shelter and and bedding um and also the the the disaster Center has said um has called on International Partners For assistance here in Australia for example the prime minister's already said that it's standing by ready to help where it can um so it's a question of you know how to get that help as quick quickly as

possible uh because of course it's still uh far from from from under control especially in an area where there's still water and there's still concern about the land still sliding so concern about the land still sliding this was an area where we we described the people as growing their own food as having food Gardens just how how much of an impact will this have on the local region given the destruction that we're seeing well papan is a very rural population many people do live yo

u outside of the cities and in areas where they're growing their own their own food um and this is what we've seen is you know a huge area of houses and their Gardens and their their Farmland if you like there's completely uh wiped out and these people you know have obviously surviving on the on on on the land and that's what they need to be able to sustain the communi which is why uh humanitarian you Aid agencies are trying to to try and you know help the the the community and many of the community that's been displaced people who've had to leave their homes because they're

unsafe so we're still talking about a very a difficult situation for those survivors and of course those survivors are also looking um for for their loved ones in among the debris yes a very difficult situation Katie Watson as always thanks very much Katie"

• Over 2,000 people feared buried alive in a landslide in Papua New Guinea's Anger province, causing major destruction to buildings, food gardens, and the economy.
• Difficulty in accessing the rescue site due to heavy debris, with villagers resorting to shovels and sticks for clearance.
• Rescue efforts hindered by the remote location, logistical challenges, and security concerns exacerbated by previous tribal violence.
• International assistance sought by the country's National Disaster Center and humanitarian aid agencies to provide food, water, shelter, and support.
• Impact on the local rural population significant, as many rely on their own food cultivation, with vast areas of houses, gardens, and farmland destroyed.