More than 150 houses have been buried under a layer of rocks and earth between six and eight meters deep in a village where more than 4,000 people live.
A United Nations agency estimated this Sunday that more than 670 people were killed in the landslide that buried a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea in the early hours of Friday, according to Australian state television ABC.
The head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Papua New Guinea, Serhan Aktoprak, told ABC that according to the new estimates: more than 150 houses were buried through a layer of rocks and earth six to eight meters deep and they fear that more than 670 people have lost their lives.
Aktoprak stated that the disaster area in the village of Kaokalam600 kilometers from the country’s capital, Port Moresby, remains dangerous due to the risk of new avalanches, so they are working to evacuate around 1,250 survivors.
“My companions had to escape from the place since then due to the increasing danger Stones keep falling without stopping and the earth keeps sliding“, indicated the head of the IOM in the country, who added that this, together with the large amount of land that had already fallen, is putting pressure on houses in the area, making evacuation necessary.
About Officially 4,000 people live there in the area where the avalanche occurred, although authorities estimate that the number of people affected is higher, as the town where the avalanche occurred is a place where locals are fleeing conflict and tribal clashes in nearby villages.
Much of Kaokalam village was buried under a layer of between six and eight meters of rocks and stones and the avalanche affected an area of more than 200 square kilometers, including approximately 150 kilometers from the highway of the province, complicating rescue efforts and aid to survivors.
The affected area typically experiences heavy rainfall and flooding, and landslides are not uncommon in the country, which, despite its wealth of natural resources, is home to a large proportion of the country’s more than nine million inhabitants. extreme poverty and is isolated due to a lack of communications and infrastructure, especially in remote places such as the current catastrophe.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
