Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Relief for landslide-affected in PNG’s Bulolo pending full damage assessment

Posted at 03:39 on 12 November, 2009 UTC

The MP for Bulolo in Papua New Guinea’s Morobe province says he is waiting for a formal report from local disaster officials before sending in relief for people affected by last week’s massive landslide in his constituency.

The landslide in one of Bulolo’s remote villages claimed two lives and destroyed dozens of coffee blocks.

According to local level government, about 3,000 people have been left homeless and are in need of help with food, water, clothing and relief supplies

However, the MP Sam Basil says he is yet to receive an adequate damage assessment report.

Mr Basil says responses to previous disasters in the region have shown that without a full report to act on, officials often waste resources in a relief effort.

“But we’ve already got a few of the stuff that needs to be delivered tomorrow (Friday). But as soon as I get into Lae tomorrow we can source those reliefs, because I’ve got to know how many families are affected and how many people that we have to look after. If I blindly send things into the area we may overdo it or we may send less [than is needed].”

Sam Basil