Victims still waiting for basic needs

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Quake-affected communities in Papua New Guinea’s Hela province are still in urgent need of basic supplies. It’s been 11 days since a magnitude 7.5 quake in Hela caused buildings to collapse and triggered mass landslides in the surrounding Highlands region. At least 76 people have died, according to local officials. Power is still out in much of Hela, and there’s a shortage of medical, water and shelter supplies for an estimated 150,000 people. The provincial police commander Thomas Levongo said supplies were expected to arrive soon. “Yes, I heard from the provincial administrator yesterday. He told me that medical supplies are on the way..” He said there were more injured people in need across Hela following a 6.7 aftershock in the early hours of this morning. Tari local Moses Komengi said there was an acute need for tents because people were too afraid to stay in their homes. “If the aftershocks continue, some of the houses might break. It’s already shakey so we don’t know. “If things happen then people might need shelters to stay out, because at this moment some who have cars are with their families to the open fields and they are staying in the cars.” - RNZI