Devastating Landslide in Papua New Guinea

According to Sir Alfred Kaiabe, the former MP of Papua New Guinea, the landslide that occurred yesterday in the Southern Highlands caused a disaster on a scale the country has not seen before. The country has appealed to the international community in an effort to get aid into the country, including food, tents, and emergency supplies.

Kaiabe said that an entire village, Tumbi, has been wiped out by the landslide and there are now hundreds of people that have been displaced. At least sixty people are missing and there is little hope that they will be found alive. The village homes were made of sticks and palm leaves. Boulders the size of small cars crashed down the hill and wiped out an area that is more than half the width of a football field and over half a mile long.

The landslide is believed to have been caused by explosions at a quarry located nearby. There is also an Exxon-Mobile natural gas project that is ongoing near the village. The company said that the project will continue, even in the wake of the disaster. Rescue crews have had a very difficult time because of constant rain and how remote the region is. Peter O’Neill, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, hopes that salvage and cleanup crews will be able to being their tasks soon. However, it appears that the sheer scale of the disaster will ensure that the cleanup is very slow.

There are millions of square feet of debris and mud that will have to be cleared. Those working to sift through the rock and soil cannot do so very thoroughly, so it may be many days before the bodies of those buried can be uncovered. An independent investigation will be started to determine what caused the landslide.

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