A month after strong winds left three families homeless after their homes were inundated by sea they finally received relief items from PNG Red Cross Society to restart their lives at Gabi, Hanuabada Village.
Reportedly the houses caved in due to the recent strong winds on July 15. The families made it out in time unharmed but were petrified at the devastation and the loss of their properties and homes.
The villages have a long history of living by the sea and have developed a unique architectural design for their homes.
The houses are built on stilts over the sea and are adjoined by platform pathways in rows from the land towards the sea.
Julie Vagahu a 56-year-old widow whose home was also destroyed thanked the PNGRCS for the kind donation of the relief items, which included pots, hygiene kits, blankets, utensils, canvasses and clothing.
“After our homes were destroyed we did not receive any support from outside. This is the first donation, we are grateful for the National Red Cross Society to assist us in our time of despair. It is good the Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society finally helped,” she said.
The PNGRCS NCD/ Central Coordinator Timothy Evo’O said
“PNG Red Cross Society as mandated in the Disaster Response Management, responses to natural and man-made disasters of various harzards. NCD Central is prone to strong winds and flooding which often affects people along the coastal areas. The families affected are misplaced and are living under the shelter of other neighbours they lost most of their belongings in the sea”
He said Papua New Guinea Red Cross as an auxiliary to the Government is mandated to act in times of disasters and assesses the magnitude and the devastation before its responds.