Wabag diocese step up to help landslide victims

The testimony of the local Catholic community from the area of Enga province hit by the mountain landslide a week ago. The death toll may be less than the 2,000 reported, but there are still villages wiped out in an area of 200 square kilometres and hundreds of families who have lost everything in hard-to-reach areas. ‘We thank those who are close to us in prayer’.

Wabag (AsiaNews) - Families completely washed away by the mountains and a serious emergency situation in an area that still remains difficult to reach and where new landslides could occur. Almost a week now since the devastating landslide that struck the Mulitaka area in Papua New Guinea on 24th May, this is the news coming from the local Catholic diocese of Wabag, which is mobilising to help.

It is possible that the figure of 2,000 victims circulated in recent days is an overestimate: there are other reports that speak of several hundred dead. What is certain, however, is that there are hundreds of people in the Highlands who have lost everything to this disaster.

‘Some 3950 people resided in the affected area in Mulitaka, which is part of the parish of Kasap,’ the bishop of Wabang, Msgr Arnold Orowae, and his collaborators wrote in a note. ‘We have reached the area affected by the disaster, which is two and a half hours away from the seat of the diocese. The total population of the area is about 3950 people’. The diocese reports in particular on the situation found in the village of Kaokalam, which - together with the village of Tulipana, on the other side of the mountain - are listed as the worst affected. 

‘According to survivors of the approximately 1,500 members of the Kaokalam community, 178 people were buried alive while 255 houses were washed away by the giant landslide. Five families were completely wiped out by the disaster, while of the other 250 families, some members fled and others died. So far, the local population has only found four dead bodies and some remains of a man. The entire Panges clan, belonging to the Kipul tribe, has been affected. Other houses could still be at risk in the event of further landslides, because the nearby mountains have also already given way.

The survivors need immediate assistance for basic needs, such as food, clothes, medical care, temporary shelters, water, blankets, mats, health kits. Then will come the time to rebuild permanent homes, classrooms, health centres, water facilities, sanitation, churches. ‘As the diocese of Wabag,’ a note continues, ‘we responded quickly by bringing food to those directly affected. We also provided medical supplies to the slightly injured, while the seriously injured were taken to our health centres and the hospital in Wabag. The landslide left debris up to 8 metres deep over an area of 200 square kilometres, cutting off access to roads and making rescue operations difficult. But people of goodwill helped us get there with our supplies of food and medicine’.

‘We thank you very much for your messages of condolence, for standing in solidarity with us, for your concern and for your prayers and blessings. Any help is welcome.’

• Papua New Guinea
• Mulitaka
• landslide
• Wabag