Early Friday morning, tragedy struck a remote village in the north of Papua New Guinea as a colossal landslide destroyed numerous homes and potentially claimed hundreds of lives. Over 50 houses, with inhabitants still asleep within their walls, were buried in the landslide that hit Kaokalam village around 3 a.m., according to local resident, Ninga Role, who communicated the terrible news to Reuters via phone. The official casualty count is currently approaching 300 people, among them members of Ninga Role's own family.
Australian broadcasters and local media have reported the death toll already surpassing 100. A heart-wrenching account of a man trying to rescue his sleeping children, only to be buried with extended family members, was also relayed through Role.
Role's social media posts display the aftermath of the disaster, with villagers seen attempting to navigate the immense piles of rocks, uprooted trees, and heaps of soil while trying to locate possible survivors. Women's mournful sobbing can also be heard resonating in the background.
Role shared, "It's very impossible, the area covered by the landslide is large and there are rocks and trees everywhere," emphasizing the difficulties faced in extraction efforts.
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, James Marape, expressed his condolences to the victims' families in a statement released earlier. He also noted that his administration had dispatched officials from the nation’s emergency response agency, defense force, and road and highways department to collaborate with Enga’s provincial and district leaders and oversee rescue, relief, and infrastructure rebuilding operations.
Papua New Guinea, a Pacific country of roughly ten million inhabitants, is resource-rich. Still, it battles with a lagging economy, a high crime rate, and widespread cases of violence. Marred by sporadic episodes of anarchy, like the riot in the capital earlier this year following an erroneous police payroll cut, the country's progress has been stalled.
The diverse topography and remote settings of the hundreds of tribal communities have hindered essential service upgrades. Targeting improvements in water, electricity, and sanitation facilities has proven challenging, thanks to the country's complex and expansive mountainous terrain coupled with a dearth of roads.