The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been sending food, water containers, canvases and other supplies to areas impacted by double disasters in Papua New Guinea.
Torrential rains combined with strong winds during March and April triggered flooding and landslides throughout the nation, which comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea north of Australia.
The floods and landslides killed at least 23, reported Australian Broadcasting Corp. One of the landslide victims was a member of the Koningi Branch in the Goroka Papua New Guinea District, the Church’s Pacific Newsroom reported on May 1.
East Sepik Province Gov. Allan Bird told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the flooding stretched more than 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) affecting 60 to 70 villages along the Sepik River.
Then on Sunday, March 24, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck near the northern town of Ambunti, shaking villages along the Sepik River and in surrounding areas already inundated by the flooding. It is estimated that nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed.
Elder Robert Gordon, an Area Seventy, convened an emergency response committee over the Goroka and Sepik River districts of the Church.
Sepik River District President Barney Ambuia and Pacific Area humanitarian managers Taulia Tafiti and Uraia Levaci drove three hours from the town of Wewak on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, then traveled two and half hours in a dinghy along the river to meet with local Church leaders and assess damage and needs. Many villages are not accessible by land.
The most urgent needs were shelter, clean water, food, and canvases to keep belongings and firewood dry.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
