landslide

Winkeo Wengane was to do Grade 12 at Markham Secondary School. He was among five other casualties of the landslide.

His body was recovered on Sunday, December 31, a day after disaster struck. He was laid to rest beside his late father on New Year’s Day, Monday, January 1, 2024. Late Winkeo’s mother is now left with the pain of losing her only child.

Bodies of the three deceased have been recovered. However, the fourth, a grade 11 student at Markham Secondary School, is still missing and is believed to be buried under the debris. 

His mother and family have gathered at the disaster site, covered in mud as a sign of mourning, waiting as other villagers dig through the rubble of soil and debris to find the son. 

Villagers say the landslide hit twice, the first at midnight and the second at 5 am. 

At least 11 of those who died in the flooding Friday were students, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho of the disaster mitigation agency. Some students are still missing. The flooding was in Mandailing Natal, North Sumatra.

Some of the students were buried under debris and mud after the Aek Saladi river overflowed, according to state media.

Many schools in the New Guinea Islands Region particularly in East New Britain, New Ireland and West New Britain are at risk of earthquakes and tsunamis.

Schools in the Highlands Region are at risk of landslides therefore it is vital that children are prepared and know what to do when faced with a natural disaster.

Shichigo Elementary School in Sendai City, Japan is undergoing a pilot curriculum for disaster preparedness, prevention and safety.

Landslide affects Tambul road

http://www.looppng.com/content/landslide-affects-tambul-road

The 40, 00 plus people of Tambul valley are in danger of being cut off from Mount Hagen because a section of the highway leading up to the station was washed away.

Manus Island Regional Processing Centre to close soon

A local leader, Wako Napasu told Loop PNG a landslide occurred on Saturday during heavy rains in the area.

Napasu and local elders fear that if nothing is done within the next 48 hours, the road will collapse.

He said the affected section of the road is two kilometres from Nebilyer bridge and 8 kilometres from Tambul government station

If the road collapses, this will impact the multimillion kina ADB funded construction work along the highway by contactor  COVEC and subcontractor Makara Constructions.

Heavy duty machines hired by both the Simbu Provincial Government and the Kundiawa/Gembogl District Development Authority (DDA) worked almost 24 hours for five days to clear the debris and constructed a bypass.

About 15,000 people in the mountainous Gembogl and the Mt Wilhelm areas were effectively cut off from Kundiawa, the provincial capital, after a massive landslide destroyed a portion of that winding road two weeks ago.

Local MP Tobias Kulang thanked the Kamaneku and Yongomugl victims of the natural disaster for allowing the authorities to clear the blockade.

Rescue workers used shovels and backhoes in a desperate effort to reach survivors Friday, pulling one man alive from the rubble of his collapsed home more than 15 hours after the landslide hit late Thursday.

The hill that towers over the village of Cambray, about 10 miles (15 kilometers) east of Guatemala City, partly collapsed onto a 200-foot (60-meter) stretch of the hamlet just before midnight, burying an estimated 68 homes.