On Sunday, the International Organization for Migration raised its estimate of the death toll from a catastrophic landslide in Papua New Guinea to over 670. This decision was made in response to the despair of emergency responders and their bereaved families, who had lost faith in the possibility of locating any survivors.
According to SSerhan Aktoprak, the head of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in the South Pacific island nation, Yambali village and Enga provincial officials’ calculations showed that the landslide that happened on Friday had buried more than 150 homes. The previous estimate was 60 residences.
Aktoprak informed The Associated Press that they are currently estimating that over 670 individuals are living beneath the ground.
LocInitially, the fatality toll on Friday was estimated to be 100 or higher by local officials. Sunday, the recovery effort was joined by the first piece of mechanical earth-moving equipment, an excavator donated by a local builder, which was used to recover only five bodies and the limb of a sixth victim.
On Sunday, relief personnel were relocating survivors to safer areas due to the threat posed by the plethora of unstable earth and tribal warfare that is prevalent in the Papua New Guinea Highlands.
The ground continues to shift, resulting in the condemnation of approximately 250 additional homes since the landslide. This has resulted in an estimated 1,250 individuals being displaced, according to officials.
In the interim, the national government is contemplating whether it is necessary to formally request additional international assistance.
The crews have abandoned their efforts to locate survivors beneath the earth and debris, which are situated at a depth of 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet).
“There is a significant amount of mourning and grieving, as people are coming to grips with this,” Aktoprak stated.
He said the neHe stated that the new estimated mortality toll was “not reliable” due to the fact that it was derived from the average size of the families in the region per household. rom making any predictions regarding the potential for a greater number of fatalities.
“It is difficuIt is exceedingly challenging to state. Aktoprak stated, “We are striving to be quite pragmatic.” terested in generating any figures that would exaggerate the truth.”
On either side of the extensive debris field that spans an area the size of three to four football fields and has severed the province’s primary highway, government officials were constructing evacuation centers on safer ground.
Beside theConvoys that have been transporting food, water, and other essential supplies to the devastated village, which is located 60 kilometers (35 miles) from the provincial capital, Wabag, have encountered risks associated with tribal fighting in Tambitanis village, which is approximately midway along the route, in addition to the blocked highway. s were under the protection of Papua New Guinean soldiers.
Eight localOn Saturday, a longstanding dispute unrelated to the landslide resulted in the deaths of eight locals in a confrontation between two rival clans. ials reported that approximately 30 residences and five retail establishments were destroyed during the conflict.
Aktoprak stated that he did not anticipate that tribal combatants would target the convoys; however, he did acknowledge that opportunistic criminals could exploit the chaos to do so.
“This couldEssentially, this could result in a robbery or carjacking,” Aktoprak stated. ot only concern for the safety and security of the personnel, but also for the products, as they may exploit this chaos as a means of theft.”
Longtime tThe official estimate that nearly 4,000 individuals were residing in the village when a portion of Mount Mungalo detached during the long-standing tribal conflict has been called into question. was outdated and did not account for individuals who had relocated to the village more recently to escape clan violence that government authorities are unable to control.
Justine McMJustine McMahon, the country director of the humanitarian agency CARE International, stated that the immediate priority was to relocate survivors to “more stable ground” and to provide them with food, water, and shelter. vors were being directed by the military.
The numbers On Sunday, the number of injured and missing individuals was still being evaluated. ay, seven individuals, including a minor, had received medical treatment; however, officials were unable to provide information regarding their underlying conditions.
On Sunday, the National Disaster Center director, Laso Mana, and the Defense Minister of Papua New Guinea, Billy Joseph, were traveling from Port Moresby to Wabag via helicopter to acquire a firsthand understanding of the necessary resources.
Aktoprak anticipated that the government would determine whether or not to request additional international assistance by Tuesday.
The United States and Australia, Papua New Guinea’s most generous foreign aid provider and a close neighbor, are among the governments that have publicly expressed their willingness to provide additional assistance to responders.
Papua New Guinea is a developing nation with a population of 10 million, the majority of whom are subsistence cultivators, and 800 languages.
