Rescue Efforts in New Guinea Delayed by Dangerous Conditions
2024-05-29
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1Officials in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have ordered people in parts of Enga Province to leave their homes because of the continuing danger of landslides.
2The government estimates that the collapse of a mountainside buried at least 2,000 people on Friday.
3Officials said the likelihood of finding survivors is small.
4That number is higher than an earlier estimate from the United Nations, which placed possible deaths at 670.
5An estimated 150 structures were buried in the landslide.
6Rescue teams have been slow to arrive.
7Heavy rain and tribal unrest have delayed aid supplies and the heavy equipment needed to dig into the earth.
8The U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) said a bridge to the area had collapsed forcing aid vehicles to travel farther.
9A military escort has guarded groups of rescue vehicles because of the unrest.
10A continuing deadly tribal conflict has made it more difficult for aid workers to get to the area.
11Local people have used hand tools to search for survivors.
12Sandis Tsaka is a provincial administrator and heads a disaster committee.
13He told Reuters that conditions remained dangerous.
14"The landslide area is very unstable," he said, "...there are still rocks and debris coming down."
15Tsaka also said the military had set up security stops and is moving people to evacuation centers.
16The U.N. said on Tuesday that six bodies had been recovered so far.
17The U.N. estimated the total number of those affected to be 7,849.
18Nicholas Booth is a representative of the U.N. Development Program.
19He said the aid operation is very complex because the landslide area is increasing.
20"It means that now, the area that's been affected by the landslide is greater than it was at the beginning. We don't know how it will develop, but that's the nature of the geology in PNG."
21Booth also spoke about the tribal violence. He said eight people were killed and 30 houses burned in fighting on Saturday.
22Itayi Viriri of the IOM spoke in Geneva. Viriri said aid teams need to be careful to prevent "another disaster," saying "all response efforts have to be done in a very careful manner."
23On Tuesday, the U.N. said that immediate needs include clean water, food preparation tools, medicine, and psychological and social support.
24A U.N. statement said provincial officials in New Guinea have asked the international community to send engineers to study geological dangers in the area.
25Officials said the difference in the estimated number of dead is the result of the difficulty the country has in counting its population.
26The nation's last credible population count, or census, was in 2000.
27A 2022 list of registered voters for the area does not include people under the age of 18.
28Booth said estimates should be treated with "great caution."
29He said, "It's just not possible at this stage to make a very scientific, verified estimate."
30Booth added, "But it's going to be a very high number of casualties. We have to be prepared for that."
31I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1Officials in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have ordered people in parts of Enga Province to leave their homes because of the continuing danger of landslides. 2The government estimates that the collapse of a mountainside buried at least 2,000 people on Friday. Officials said the likelihood of finding survivors is small. That number is higher than an earlier estimate from the United Nations, which placed possible deaths at 670. 3An estimated 150 structures were buried in the landslide. 4Rescue teams have been slow to arrive. Heavy rain and tribal unrest have delayed aid supplies and the heavy equipment needed to dig into the earth. The U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) said a bridge to the area had collapsed forcing aid vehicles to travel farther. 5A military escort has guarded groups of rescue vehicles because of the unrest. A continuing deadly tribal conflict has made it more difficult for aid workers to get to the area. 6Local people have used hand tools to search for survivors. 7Sandis Tsaka is a provincial administrator and heads a disaster committee. He told Reuters that conditions remained dangerous. "The landslide area is very unstable," he said, "...there are still rocks and debris coming down." 8Tsaka also said the military had set up security stops and is moving people to evacuation centers. 9The U.N. said on Tuesday that six bodies had been recovered so far. The U.N. estimated the total number of those affected to be 7,849. 10Nicholas Booth is a representative of the U.N. Development Program. He said the aid operation is very complex because the landslide area is increasing. 11"It means that now, the area that's been affected by the landslide is greater than it was at the beginning. We don't know how it will develop, but that's the nature of the geology in PNG." 12Booth also spoke about the tribal violence. He said eight people were killed and 30 houses burned in fighting on Saturday. 13Itayi Viriri of the IOM spoke in Geneva. Viriri said aid teams need to be careful to prevent "another disaster," saying "all response efforts have to be done in a very careful manner." 14On Tuesday, the U.N. said that immediate needs include clean water, food preparation tools, medicine, and psychological and social support. 15A U.N. statement said provincial officials in New Guinea have asked the international community to send engineers to study geological dangers in the area. 16Officials said the difference in the estimated number of dead is the result of the difficulty the country has in counting its population. The nation's last credible population count, or census, was in 2000. A 2022 list of registered voters for the area does not include people under the age of 18. 17Booth said estimates should be treated with "great caution." He said, "It's just not possible at this stage to make a very scientific, verified estimate." Booth added, "But it's going to be a very high number of casualties. We have to be prepared for that." 18I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 19Lewis Jackson and Renju Jose reported this story for Reuters. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. 20______________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22escort -n. a group that accompanies and protects another group that is traveling 23unstable -adj. in a condition that is likely to change and that is not solid or steady 24debris -n. what is left behind after something has been destroyed 25evacuation -n. an effort to move people out of an area for their safety 26credible -adj. believable 27caution -n. care and concern about something 28casualties -n. (pl.) the number of injuries and deaths in a disaster 29We want to hear from you. 30Our comment policy is here