Papua New Guinea: Responding to needs in earthquake affected areas
The ICRC Mt Hagen team make their way to Hela Province to repair broken water systems at Koroba District Hospital and Fugwe Health Centre. The earthquake destroyed vital infrastructure as seen along the Poroma Road in Southern Highlands Province.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / H. Maesen
The ICRC team loads health kits to be transported to Koroba District Hospital, Hela Province. These kits were provided by the Hela Provincial Health authorities.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / H. Maesen
An ICRC engineer, Aleksandr Mailyan, instructs staff at Koroba District Hospital on how to use the solar doppler kits installed at the hospital’s maternity ward. The earthquake disrupted the hospital’s power and water supply.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / H. Maesen
The out-patient ward at Fugwe Health Centre in Koroba, Hela Province, almost collapsed and water tanks broke when the earthquake struck. The ICRC assisted in restoring temporary water solutions to the rural health facility.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / H. Maesen
These children fled their homes with their parents and are now being sheltered at the Lil makeshift Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Centre in Nipa, Southern Highlands Province. Their painted faces portray a traditional sign of grief.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / R. Tabel
Mark Kessler, the ICRC Papua New Guinea head of mission, assists a woman with a basic shelter kit in Nipa District, Southern Highlands Province. The kits, containing one tarpaulin, one bucket, two blankets, two mats and six bars of soap, were distributed to displaced families.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / R. Tabel
A Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society volunteer, Locki Parker, assists a woman with her kit in Lil IDP Centre, Nipa District. Around 140 families found assistance at the centre.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / R. Tabel
Mathew Dingako currently lives in Merep IDP Centre. He ruefully questions why such a tragedy happened to him and his family. “We lost our home, food gardens and other valuable items and ran away to save our lives. The pain of seeing our property lost in just a blink of any eye is unbearable,” Dingako said.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / R. Tabel
Jayson Kalipako helps his family with their kits during a recent distribution at Merep IDP Centre. Jayson will never forget the impact of the earthquake. “I had never seen anything like this before. I was so scared,” he said.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / R. Tabel
A month after a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Highlands in Papua New Guinea, the ICRC is gaining greater access and assisting more of the affected population in remote parts of Southern Highland and Hela provinces. The Papua New Guinea National Disaster Center estimates that more than 544,000 people have been affected in five provinces and more than 270,000 people are in immediate need of assistance.
It is reported that the death toll has reached over 100 people and more than 300 individuals have been gravely injured in the affected areas. The ICRC's operational focus is currently in providing water, sanitation and habitat activities in health centres, communities, and schools.
