On Monday, Papua New Guinea informed the United Nations that a massive landslide had buried over 2,000 people in a remote village.
“The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction”, the country’s national disaster centre notified the UN office in the capital Port Moresby.
A once-bustling remote hillside village in Enga province was nearly destroyed when a section of Mount Mungalo crumbled in the early hours of Friday morning, burying scores of homes and the people sleeping inside them.
The disaster office reported, “The landslide caused major destruction to buildings, the food gardens and caused a major impact on the economic lifeline of the country”.
The letter, received by UN officials on Monday morning, stated that the main highway to Porgera Mine was completely blocked.
“The situation remains unstable as the landslides continue to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike”, the letter reads.
“The scale of the catastrophe required immediate and collaborative actions from all players”, it continued, including the army, and national and regional responders.
It urged the UN to inform Papua New Guinea’s development partners and other international friends of the current situation.
“Assistance should be coordinated through the disaster centre”, the letter added.
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