One village was flattened and several others were affected by Friday’s landslide in a province of the country prone to outbreaks of violence.
By Niamh Lynch, News reporter @niamhielynch
More than 670 people have been killed by a landslide in northern Papua New Guinea, according to new calculations by local officials.
The landslide levelled the mountainous Kaokalam village in Enga Province – about 370 miles (600km) northwest of the capital Port Moresby.
It hit the Pacific nation at around 3am local time on Friday (6pm on Thursday UK time), and local officials had initially put the number of dead at 100 or more.
Serhan Aktoprak, chief of the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration mission on the island nation, said the revised death toll was based on calculations by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials that over 150 homes had been buried. The previous estimate was 60 homes.
“They are estimating that more than 670 people [are] under the soil at the moment,” he said.
More than 4,000 people were likely impacted by the disaster, said humanitarian group CARE Australia.
Over six villages were affected by the landslide in the province’s Mulitaka region, according to Australia‘s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Three bodies were pulled from an area where 50 to 60 homes were destroyed. Six people, including a child, were pulled from the rubble alive, the UN’s Papua New Guinea office said.
But hopes of finding more survivors were diminishing.
The landslide left debris up to eight metres deep across 200 sq km (77 sq miles), cutting off road access, which was making relief efforts difficult. Helicopters were the only way to reach the area.
Survivors searched through tonnes of earth and rubble by hand looking for missing relatives while a first emergency convoy delivered food, water and other provisions on Saturday.
However, Mr Aktoprak added: “Hopes to take the people out alive from the rubble have diminished now.”
In February, at least 26 men were killed in Enga Province in an ambush amid tribal violence that prompted Prime Minister James Marape to give arrest powers to the country’s military.
Mr Marape has said disaster officials, the defence force and the department of works and highways were assisting with relief and recovery efforts.
Papua New Guinea, with a population of around 10 million, is a diverse, developing nation of mostly subsistence farmers with 800 languages. There are few roads outside the larger cities.
It is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where much of the world’s earthquake and volcanic activity occurs.
In March, the country was hit by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake.
The United States and Australia are building closer defence ties with the strategically important nation, while China is also seeking closer security and economic ties.
US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said their governments stood ready to help respond to the landslide.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
