PORT MORESBY: It is “very unlikely” more survivors of Papua New Guinea’s deadly landslide will be found, a UN agency warned Tuesday, as thousands at risk from further slips were ordered to evacuate.
Some 2,000 people are feared buried by a massive landslide that entombed a remote highland community in the early hours of May 24.
Since then, locals have been picking through a hellscape of meters-deep churned-up earth, uprooted trees and car-sized boulders in the search for loved ones — often using little more than their hands, shovels and digging sticks.
But hopes are dimming that anyone is alive underneath the mountain of rubble.
“It is not a rescue mission, it is a recovery mission,” UNICEF Papua New Guinea’s Niels Kraaier said. “It is very unlikely they will have survived.”
Full-scale rescue and relief efforts have been severely hampered by the remote location, the only road link being severed, heavy rainfall and nearby tribal violence.
The Papua New Guinea Defense Forces have struggled to access the site with heavy earth-moving equipment.
Early on Tuesday, Enga provincial administrator Sandis Tsaka warned the disaster could worsen further, as clumps of limestone, dirt and rock continue to shear off the side of Mount Mungalo.
Tsaka said authorities were now trying to coordinate the evacuation of almost 7,900 more people.
“The tragedy is still active,” he said. “Every hour you can hear rock breaking — it is like a bomb or gunshot and the rocks keep falling down.”
Aid officials said many residents were refusing to leave at-risk areas because they were holding out hope of finding loved ones.
Satellite images show the enormous scale of the disaster.
A vast smear of yellow and grey debris can be seen cutting through once verdant bushland and severing the region’s only road.
“This was an area heavily populated with homes, businesses, churches and schools, it has been completely wiped out. It is the surface of the moon — it is just rocks,” said Tsaka.
“People are digging with their hands and fingers,” he said, expressing anguish at the unde-resourced government’s inability to meet the enormity of the disaster.
“I am not equipped to deal with this tragedy,” Tsaka admitted.
Overwhelmed Papua New Guinea authorities held an online emergency meeting with United Nations agencies and international allies Tuesday, hoping to kickstart the relief effort.
Papua New Guinea’s national disaster center has told the United Nations that the initial “landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive.”
According to a letter obtained by AFP, the slide also “caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country.”
The scale of the catastrophe required “immediate and collaborative actions from all players,” it added, including the army, and national and provincial responders.
Australia has announced millions of dollars worth of aid, including emergency relief supplies such as shelters, hygiene kits and support for women and children.
China’s President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden — more accustomed to scrapping for influence in the strategically located country — both offered assistance.
More than 1,000 people have already been displaced by the catastrophe, aid agencies have estimated.
UN Development Programme official Nicholas Booth said up to 30,000 people could have been cut off by the disaster across several villages.
These communities had enough supplies for the coming weeks, but opening up that road remained essential, he said.
“This landslide has blocked the road westward, so not only are there challenges in accessing the village itself, but it does mean the communities beyond that are also cut off.”
Locals said the landslip may have been triggered by recent heavy rains.
Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, and research has found shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change could exacerbate the risk of landslides.
The estimated death toll has climbed significantly since the disaster struck, as officials reassess the size of the population.
Many people fleeing tribal violence have moved into the area in the past few years.
The area is located about 600 kilometers from Port Moresby.
‘Unlikely’ to be more survivors from Papua New Guinea landslide
https://arab.news/bfm7d
‘Unlikely’ to be more survivors from Papua New Guinea landslide
- Some 2,000 people are feared buried by a massive landslide that entombed a remote highland community
- Full-scale rescue and relief efforts have been severely hampered by the remote location
94 million need cataract surgery, but access lacking: WHO
- Of the 94 million affected, fewer than 20 percent are blind, while the rest suffer from impaired vision
GENEVA: More than 94 million people suffer from cataracts, but half of them do not have access to the surgery needed to fix it, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
Cataracts — the clouding of the eye’s lens that causes blurred vision and can lead to blindness — are on the rise as populations get older, with age being the main risk factor.
“Cataract surgery — a simple, 15-minute procedure — is one of the most cost-effective medical procedures, providing immediate and lasting restoration of sight,” the WHO said.
It is one of the most frequently performed surgeries undertaken in high-income countries.
However, “half of the world’s population in need of cataract surgery don’t have access to it,” said Stuart Keel, the UN health agency’s technical lead for eye care.
The situation is worst in the WHO’s Africa region, where three in four people needing cataract surgery remain untreated.
In Kenya, at the current rate, 77 percent of people needing cataract surgery are likely to die with their cataract blindness or vision impairment, said Keel.
Across all regions, women consistently experience lower access to care than men.
Of the 94 million affected, fewer than 20 percent are blind, while the rest suffer from impaired vision.
- 2030 vision -
The WHO said that over the past two decades, global cataract surgery coverage had increased by 15 percent.
In 2021, WHO member states set a target of a 30-percent increase by 2030.
However, current modelling predicts that cataract surgery coverage will rise by only about 8.4 percent this decade.
To close the gap, the WHO urged countries to integrate eye examinations into primary health care and invest in the required surgical equipment.
States should also expand the eye-care workforce, training surgeons in a standardised manner and then distributing them throughout the country, notably outside major cities.
The WHO was on Wednesday launching new guidance for countries on how to provide quality cataract surgery services.
It will also issue guidance to help support workforce development.
Keel said the main issue was capacity and financing.
“We do need money invested to get rid of this backlog, which is nearly 100 million people,” he told a press conference.
While age is the primary risk factor for cataracts, others include prolonged UV-B light exposure, tobacco use, prolonged corticosteroid use and diabetes.
Keel urged people to keep up regular eye checks as they get older, with most problems able to be either prevented or diagnosed and treated.
The cost of the new lens that goes inside the eye can be under $100.
However, out-of-pocket costs can be higher when not covered by health insurance.
“Cataract surgery is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore vision and transform lives,” said Devora Kestel, head of the WHO’s noncommunicable diseases and mental health department.
“When people regain their sight, they regain independence, dignity, and opportunity.”
