45 000 people affected, Koare most hit by flooding

Over flooding in Koare River

More than 45,000 people in Papua New Guinea's the Gulf and Southern Highlands provinces have been affected by flooding, following a month of torrential rain which has caused widespread damage.

There have been no reports of lives lost but National Disaster Office reports say the continuous rain since the second week of June has caused houses in some villages to completely wash away.

It says food crops and infrastructure, including bridges, have been destroyed, and landslides have been triggered in parts of the Southern Highlands along the Highlands Highway. 

Church under water 

in Koare.
Photo by: Koki R

In the Koare area in the Southern Highlands Province, about 10000 people are affected. Reports coming from public servants in the area say that the river Koare has over flooded and washed away:  food gardens, church buildings, homes, roads and bridges. Students attending Koare, Waluanda, and Karanda primary schools have been affected. People are unable to move around as the only road access out of Koare has been washed away. Public servants and teachers are stranded in the area. Medicine and school supplies to the area have stopped. The public servants in the  area are calling on  the Southern Highlands Provincial the the national government to intervene and help the stranded people. 

In other areas like Wabo, Uru and Uraru villages, houses were completely washed away, forcing some families to move to higher grounds to live in make shift camps.

The National Disaster Office reports say clean water sources have also been contaminated by rising water levels.

Relief supplies are being delivered, and the government has committed US 2 million dollars to the two areas.