Allies, Partners bolster PNG’s recovery efforts after devastating landslide

FORUM Staff

From providing shelters and hygiene kits to deploying military assets and emergency management experts, Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners are rallying to support Papua New Guinea (PNG) after a deadly landslide.

Australia announced an initial $1.7 million in humanitarian assistance for its northern neighbor, as well as support for civil society organizations leading response and recovery efforts after the disaster in Enga province in late May 2024.

“Australia’s Defence Force is working closely with the PNG Defence Force to assist with the response,” Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, who also is deputy prime minister, said in a statement. “This work is yet another demonstration of the close partnership between our nations and militaries.”

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing $500,000 in humanitarian support, including emergency shelter supplies, and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance.

“The United States stands with Papua New Guinea — our close partner and friend — today and always,” stated the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, which is collaborating with local disaster response agencies.

“Our prayers are with all the families impacted by this tragedy and all the first responders who are putting themselves in harm’s way to help their fellow citizens,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement.

More than 2,000 people may have been buried alive under a mountain of rubble, including boulders as big as shipping containers, when the landslide swamped villages about 3 a.m. May 24, obliterating scores of homes and businesses, according to reports. The death toll remained unclear a week after the devastation as search-and-rescue operations in the remote highland region were hampered by debris-strewn highways, a collapsed bridge and fears of more landslides.

Thousands of residents faced possible evacuation and limited access to drinking water.

“The challenges we face in the aftermath of this tragedy are immense,” Serhan Aktoprak, a United Nations official in PNG, said in a news release. “The area remains extremely dangerous due to ongoing land movement, and access is hindered by blocked roads, damaged infrastructure, and adverse weather conditions.”

Partners across the Indo-Pacific expedited assistance to PNG, including:

• New Zealand, which is providing about $900,000 in support, including deploying a New Zealand Defence Force C-130 aircraft to deliver relief supplies and dispatching emergency management experts. “This disaster has caused immense suffering, and the NZ Defence Force stands ready to play its part in the response,” Defence Minister Judith Collins said in a statement.
• The Singapore Red Cross, which committed nearly $40,000 for food, shelters, trauma care, and water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, and also launched a public fundraising appeal for recovery efforts. “We are working closely with our partners from the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to monitor the situation and determine how our humanitarian aid can best assist the affected communities,” Benjamin William, the agency’s CEO, said in a news release.
• The U.N., which is coordinating response efforts among provincial and national agencies, and providing tents, health kits, psychosocial support and other relief.

The landslide in Enga, about 600 kilometers north of the capital, Port Moresby, is one of several natural disasters to strike the nation of about 10 million people in 2024.

“We are facing extraordinary weather patterns from dryness to heavy rains, flooding in river areas, sea level rise in coastal areas and landslips in mountain areas,” Prime Minister James Marape told Parliament days after the landslide, according to the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier newspaper.

In the face of intensifying natural disasters, USAID is helping PNG build resilience to climate-related threats, including providing disaster preparedness and response support to more than 12,000 people. Additionally, PNG Defence Force and U.S. military personnel recently completed a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise in Port Moresby, which included sharing crisis-response expertise in areas such as medical evacuation and patient care.

The training, which was conducted under the nation’s Defense Cooperation Agreement signed in 2023, also included an exercise to plan for delivering assistance across the Pacific island nation during a disaster.

“The purpose of this exercise is to validate our crisis response capability while strengthening regional partnerships,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Mulvihill, commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin. “It is important for us to maintain readiness and be prepared to provide assistance in times of need.”