WELLINGTON: A mountain that collapsed two weeks ago in a remote village in Papua New Guinea could move further, a New Zealand geologist warned on Friday, as authorities wrapped up search and rescue efforts.
The death toll from a landslide in PNG’s Enga region on May 24 remains unknown, with the national government saying more than 2,000 people were buried alive and the UN putting the death toll at around 670.
New Zealand geotechnical engineers sent to Papua New Guinea released a report on Thursday, raising concerns about the stability of the soil on both sides, not just landslides.
Aaron Waterreus, head of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) team, which includes geotechnical engineers, said at a press conference on Friday that “we believe landslides are likely in the medium term.” .
FENZ Geotechnical Engineer Quan Kupek said the landslide, which covers an area of about 14 hectares (35 acres), is largely unstoppable and could last for months or even years.
He said the rock movement is likely part of an old landslide, and now the beginning of the monsoon rains will liquefy the material that fell from the sand and reactivate the landslide.
The Enga provincial government announced on Thursday that the mass evacuation of the area around the landslide was underway due to concerns about the landslide.
The government stopped searching for the bodies and the site was declared a mass grave.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration says more than 7,200 people have been displaced by the landslide, and the number is likely to rise.
Infidelity and tribal unrest in the area meant heavy equipment and aid were slow to arrive, and PNG government officials decided to search for survivors under the rubble a week ago.
According to the IOM, disaster areas will be quarantined with limited access to prevent the spread of disease.
Papua New Guinea ends landslide rescue efforts amid fears of another
