Landslide kills at least 670 in Papua New Guinea

It will probably take days, even weeks, to reach a definitive assessment, according to a UN official present in the country.

A landslide has killed at least 670 people in Papua New Guinea, according to a report released on Sunday May 26 by a UN official present in this South Pacific country. “It is estimated that more than 150 houses were buried”, Serhan Aktoprak told AFP. Emergency services are still working to find possible survivors. In addition, according to humanitarian organizations, the disaster wiped out the village’s livestock, food gardens and sources of drinking water.

The landslide occurred overnight from Thursday to Friday in the province of Enga, in the center of the country, taking the residents of a village by surprise, who were buried under piles of mud and rubble while they slept . “The situation is terrible, the earth continues to slide. The water is flowing and this creates a huge risk for everyone present”said Serhan Aktoprak, specifying that more than a thousand people had to flee the disaster zone.

While it will probably take days, even weeks, to reach a definitive assessment, “People use sticks, spades and large agricultural forks to dig out bodies buried under the earth”laments the UN official.

Initially, humanitarian organizations and local authorities said they feared that between 100 and 300 people had died in the disaster. But this toll was revised upwards by the UN when rescuers realized that the village hit by the landslide had more inhabitants than estimated. It has nearly 4,000 inhabitants, and due to its location, was a rallying point for many gold prospectors in the region.

According to the World Bank, Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, and heavy rainfall regularly hits its regions. According to scientists, variation in rainfall patterns due to climate change is increasing the risk of landslides in the country.