Villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea on 27 May. Photo: Mohamud Omer / International Organization for Migration via AP
Humanitarian aid convoys will be arriving to provide long-awaited relief to remaining survivors of the Papua New Guinea landslide disaster which occurred in the early hours of Friday morning.
Recovery efforts continue in Yambali village in Enga province, where more than 2000 bodies are buried, but it is estimated to be much higher.
The remote area deep in the highlands had a youthful population of around 4000 people, according to 2022 census data (excluding families and children displaced by recent tribal violence).
World Vision PNG representative Chris Jensen said humanitarian aid groups would be travelling to the disaster site from Tuesday.
"We are really worried about the impacts on children and families. Another factor is psychosocial impacts. I can't imagine what it would be like to literally have a mountain fall on your house. It's staggering."
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is providing special support for women and children, including nine orphans who would be adopted by nearby community members and living relatives in other provinces.
"We think 1550 children were buried while sleeping," UNICEF PNG representative Angela Kearney said.
So far, medical kits for 1000 people for three months has been provided plus sanitary products and food.
"There are just so many needs there. Everything is gone," she said.
Photo: Mohamud Omer / International Organization for Migration via AP
Displaced women were also being provided with sanitary products and child-friendly tents had been sent up to encourage "children to play".
She said survivors needed special care.
"We learnt this in Syria and Yemen ... we need to get children together playing. Recreation kits have been provided and we are training youth volunteers three hours away to support those who are displaced."
Avoiding malnutrition is also a priority, she said, noting that about 50 percent of Papua New Guinea children are "stunted, they are not the right height for their weight".
"A week with no food can tip them into acute-severe malnutrition. Today we have a truck load fo peanut paste ready to give."
Many children in remote areas were also poorly vaccinated, according to UNICEF.
"After Covid-19 there was a drop in routine immunisations. We had an outbreak of whooping cough, Malaria and measles so we really need to get them vaccinated while we can."
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Recovery efforts
Aid groups say helicopters carrying machinery and more supplies are expected today (Tuesday).
Access remains limited to the disaster site with the highway still blocked by fallen boulders.
The landslip is still moving and terrain around the area is unstable, resulting in 250 households being evacuated.
The average PNG household has between five and eight people. But one resident who survived the landslip says a dozen of her family members were buried.
Tribal violence in a nearby province is another challenge which may delay relief efforts.
The UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Sehran Aktoprak said an IOM humanitarian aid team was being escorted by security through a dangerous area of tribal violence in Wabeg in order to reach the landslide.
International support
Meanwhile, PNG's international partners are waiting for the green light from the United Nations who are coordinating the response alongside the PNG government.
New Zealand has accepted the call to help.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said practical and financial assistance worth $1.5 million will be sent to Papua New Guinea to help with the response to the landslide.
Peters said the precise nature of New Zealand's assistance will be shaped by the needs of the affected communities, and through ongoing discussions with Papua New Guinea authorities.
In a post to X, Peters said the landslide was an absolute tragedy, and New Zealand will be helping PNG as it responds to the crisis.
