Authorities in Papua New Guinea initiated the evacuation of approximately 7,900 people from remote villages near the site of a catastrophic landslide on Tuesday, as the threat of further slips looms. The landslide, which struck the remote highland community in the early hours of May 24, is feared to have buried around 2,000 people.
Rescue and relief efforts have been severely hampered by the remote location, severed road links, heavy rainfall, and nearby tribal violence. Enga Provincial Administrator Sandis Tsaka warned that the situation could deteriorate further as Mount Mungalo continues to shed limestone, dirt, and rock.
“The tragedy is still active,” Sandis Tsaka told AFP. “Every hour you can hear rock breaking — it is like a bomb or gunshot and the rocks keep falling down.”
Satellite images captured on Monday highlighted the disaster’s extensive scale, showing a vast expanse of yellow and grey debris cutting through lush bushland and severing the region’s sole road.
For four days and nights, local residents have been sifting through the devastation, using rudimentary tools such as shovels and digging sticks to navigate the churned earth, uprooted trees, and boulders the size of cars.
“This was an area heavily populated with homes, businesses, churches, and schools. It has been completely wiped out. It is the surface of the moon — it is just rocks,” Sandis Tsaka described.
“People are digging with their hands and fingers,” he added, expressing frustration at the under-resourced government’s inability to respond adequately to the disaster.
“I am not equipped to deal with this tragedy,” Sandis Tsaka admitted.
Efforts are underway to bring heavy earth-moving equipment to the site via the Papua New Guinea Defence Forces. However, hopes of finding survivors are diminishing, and rescuers are now focusing on the somber task of body recovery.
Overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, Papua New Guinea authorities held an emergency meeting with United Nations agencies and international allies on Tuesday, seeking to initiate a coordinated relief effort.
Immediate Response Needed
Papua New Guinea’s national disaster centre has informed the United Nations that the initial landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive. According to a letter obtained by AFP, the landslide also caused significant destruction to buildings and food gardens, severely impacting the country’s economic lifeline.
The letter emphasized the need for “immediate and collaborative actions from all players,” including the army, as well as national and provincial responders. Australia has pledged millions of dollars in aid, including emergency relief supplies such as shelters, hygiene kits, and support for women and children.
China’s President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden, typically competing for influence in strategically important Papua New Guinea, both offered assistance.
More than 1,000 people have already been displaced by the disaster, according to aid agencies.
Houses are Burning’
Local reports suggest that recent heavy rains may have triggered the landslide. Papua New Guinea experiences one of the world’s wettest climates, and research indicates that shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change could increase the risk of landslides.
The death toll has been rising as officials reassess the population size beneath the mud and rubble, which spans nearly four football fields in length. Estimating the toll is challenging, as many people had moved into the area in recent years to escape tribal violence, noted UN Development Programme official Nicholas Booth.
As of Saturday night, five bodies and the leg of a sixth had been recovered from the debris.
Additionally, an outbreak of tribal fighting unrelated to the disaster is obstructing humanitarian aid efforts from the provincial capital Wabag. UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak reported that many houses were burning, and women and children had been displaced while youth and men in the area carried bush knives.
The scale of this catastrophe underscores the urgent need for international support and coordinated relief efforts to assist the affected communities and prevent further tragedy.
