The Papua New Guinea government has stated that a landslide on Friday buried more than 2,000 people and has formally requested international aid. This figure significantly exceeds the United Nations’ estimate of 670 fatalities. In a letter to the resident coordinator dated Sunday, the acting director of the National Disaster Center reported that the landslide “buried more than 2000 people alive” and caused “major destruction.”
Estimates of the casualties have varied widely since the disaster occurred, and it remains unclear how officials arrived at this figure. Australia has pledged to send aircraft and other equipment to the site of the deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea. Overnight rains in the mountainous interior have raised concerns about the stability of the rubble, which could become even more unstable and dangerous for rescuers and survivors alike.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that his officials have been in contact with their Papua New Guinea counterparts since Friday’s disaster in Enga province, which the United Nations estimates killed 670 people. So far, only six bodies have been recovered. “The precise nature of the assistance we provide will be determined in the coming days,” Marles said to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “We have airlift capacity to transport personnel to the affected area. We may also provide additional equipment for search and rescue operations. We are currently discussing these matters with PNG officials.”
Australia, Papua New Guinea’s closest neighbor, has been strengthening defense ties with the country as part of its efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Australia is also Papua New Guinea’s largest provider of foreign aid since the latter gained independence in 1975.
Heavy rainfall occurred for two hours overnight in Wabag, the provincial capital, which is located approximately 60 kilometers (35 miles) from the devastated village. Communications in Yambali, the affected village, are limited, and a weather report was not immediately available. However, concerns were raised about the impact of the rain on the already unstable debris, which is estimated to be 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) deep and covers an area the size of three to four football fields.
An excavator donated by a local builder on Sunday became the first piece of heavy earth-moving machinery to assist villagers who have been using shovels and farm tools to search for bodies. Working in the shifting debris is extremely dangerous. Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the International Organization for Migration’s mission in Papua New Guinea, expressed concern about the water seeping between the debris and the ground below, increasing the risk of further landslides. He did not expect to receive an update on the weather conditions in Yambali until Monday afternoon.
“I am very concerned about the weather,” Aktoprak said. “The land is still unstable, and rocks are falling.”
Papua New Guinea’s defense minister, Billy Joseph, and the government’s National Disaster Center director, Laso Mana, conducted an aerial survey of the affected area on Sunday in an Australian military helicopter. They traveled from the capital, Port Moresby, to Yambali, a distance of 600 kilometers (370 miles) to the northwest, to assess the situation firsthand. Mana’s office released a photo of him in Yambali handing a local official a check for 500,000 kina ($130,000) to purchase emergency supplies for the 4,000 displaced survivors.
The purpose of the visit was to determine whether Papua New Guinea’s government needed to formally request additional international support. The government’s military was transporting heavy earth-moving equipment to the disaster scene from Lae, a city on the east coast approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) away. Officials reported that traumatized villagers are divided over whether heavy machinery should be used to excavate the debris, as it could potentially further damage the bodies of their buried relatives.
