The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Papua New Guinea landslide response hampered by complex conditions
Efforts to rescue those impacted by the deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea that has claimed an estimated 2,000 lives have been complicated by fears that the waterlogged ground could shift again. “We don’t want a disaster on top of the current one,” said Itayi Viriri, UN migration agency (IOM) regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific, on Tuesday.
Reports from the National Disaster Center indicate that up to 2,000 people were buried under mud and rubble after a massive landslide last Friday at 3am “when most people were probably sleeping”, said Itayi Viriri, UN migration agency (IOM) regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific.
The landslide engulfed the area, burying homes, infrastructure and farmland under up to eight metres of soil and debris. Only six bodies have been recovered so far.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva from Bangkok via Zoom, the IOM spokesperson highlighted the vulnerability of those affected by the disaster: “A lot of the people who have been affected by this landslide actually moved to this area after escaping tribal conflicts in other parts of the province of Enga. So these are people who are already displaced who are now having to move to other locations.”
Dramatic video from the scene of the disaster showed locals and rescue workers struggling to shift a wall of mud and rubble using shovels. But safe access continues to be extremely difficult. “Just today, this morning, one of the main thoroughfares leading to this area, a bridge there collapsed. And now they have to fix it to make sure that all the convoys that are going to provide support have access.”
The UN agency warned that with so many bodies still to be recovered from beneath the rubble, there are concerns that underground water flowing down the mountain will contaminate local drinking water sources.
Most of the area’s sources of clean drinking water are now inaccessible because of the landslide.
“What is needed now, obviously, is access to clean water; quite a lot of the water that normally the community would access is already under rubble,” Mr. Viriri said. “So, providing that along with, food, of course, clothing, shelter items, kitchen utensils, anything that will try and alleviate the hardship that the people are facing right now.”
Heavy rains continue to hamper the relief effort, however. “This landslide that happened on Friday had not happened before in this area so it’s hard to say if it will happen again,” the IOM spokesperson said. “The soil is unsteady…and you’ve seen some of the videos of the water coming out in some of the rubble, so that makes it even more so. Yes, unfortunately we have to consider that it might happen again.”
ends
STORY: Papua New Guinea landslide update - IOM
TRT: 2’23”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 28 MAY 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior wide: UN Geneva flag alley
2. Wide: Press conference room, UN Geneva.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Itayi Viriri, UN migration agency (IOM) regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific (from Bangkok via Zoom): “The National Disaster Center has estimated that up to 2000 people are still buried under the rubble after the massive landslide that took place on Friday at 3am when most people were probably sleeping.”
4. Wide: journalists seated and TV camera operators in press room.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Itayi Viriri, UN migration agency (IOM) regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific (from Bangkok via Zoom) “A lot of the people who have been affected by this landslide actually moved to this area after escaping tribal conflicts in other parts of the province of Enga. So, these are people who are already displaced who are now having to move to other locations.”
6. Medium: journalists in the Press room.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Itayi Viriri, UN migration agency (IOM) regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific (from Bangkok via Zoom): “What is needed now, obviously, is access to clean water; quite a lot of the water that normally the community would access is already under rubble. So, providing that along with, food, of course, clothing, shelter items, kitchen utensils, anything that will try and alleviate the hardship that the people are facing right now.”
8. Medium: Journalists seated in the Press room.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Itayi Viriri, UN migration agency (IOM) regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific (from Bangkok via Zoom): “And the reality also is that access to the area for, you know, Government and other agencies is quite difficult. Just today, this morning, one of the main thoroughfares leading to this area, a bridge there collapsed. And now they have to fix it to make sure that all the convoys that are going to provide support have access.”
10. Medium: journalists seated amid microphones.
11. SOUNDBITE (English): Itayi Viriri, UN migration agency (IOM) regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific (from Bangkok via Zoom): “This landslide that happened on Friday had not happened before in this area so it’s hard to say if it will happen again. But with the continued heavy rains in the vicinity obviously everything is – the soil is unsteady – and all the rubble is still (seeing) some movement and you’ve seen some of the videos of the water coming out in some of the rubble, so that makes it even more so. (So) yes, unfortunately we have to consider that it might happen again.”
12. Medium shot: Journalist in the Press room.
Additional images from PNG here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qvqnOum0R2Lg0FzyeHnXRvoRbKCLDu4Z
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
2
6
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN warns against repeating abuses in South Kordofan that occurred in El Fasher.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Mozambique floods heighten disease, malnutrition risks – UN agencies
Catastrophic flooding in Mozambique is causing massive disruption to lives and livelihoods across the country, increasing the risk of disease and exposing urban areas to crocodiles, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Yemen: Children are dying and it’s going to get worse, aid veteran warns
In Yemen, renewed political instability threatens and economic woes linked to the war to complicate the already difficult task of helping vulnerable people suffering from deepening hunger, illness and displacement, the UN's top aid official there said on Monday.