West New Britain Province will be most affected by floods during this monsoon season, from November 2016 to April 2017.
The PNG National Weather Service (PNGNWS) reports that the country will have more rain than expected after the current weak La Nina period following the El Nino.
With the wet season to commence in November, PNGNWS director Samuel Maiha said a lot more rainfall and flooding is expected than normal.
Maihi said the WNB Provincial Government needs to prepare itself to overcome the floods as there’ll be a high risk of bridges being washed away and oil palm production will decrease.
He explained that when there’s a lot of rainfall, the oil content reduces and affects the production.
“The Kimbe floods will become a more regular monsoonal event in the future.
“WNB will have to come up with new strategies to overcome those floods that will become a regular weather pattern in the next 50 years during the monsoon period due to the alignment of the Nakanai ranges,” Maiha said.
Maiha added that the Government should always take into consideration the current weather patterns due to climate change when doing up its development plan.