Thousands of people are being evacuated Tuesday in an area of Papua New Guinea where the government says a landslide buried at least 2,000 people.
Days after Friday’s landslide, the ground in the area of Mount Mungalo was still moving, prompting concerns that the disaster could worsen.
The U.N. scheduled a virtual meeting with different governments for Tuesday to develop a response plan.
Local authorities said few bodies have been recovered. The remoteness of the region, blocked roads and tribal fighting in the area have complicated rescue and recovery efforts. People used shovels and pieces of wood to search for bodies in the wreckage covered by boulders, trees, and earth.
Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Center said in a letter to the United Nations that the landslide “caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country.”
Excavation machinery is being brought into the area, and over 250 homes have been evacuated, according to Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in Papua New Guinea.
He has also said that some residents believe the machinery will interrupt mourning.
“At this point, people I think are realizing that the chances are very slim that anyone can basically be taken out alive,” Aktoprak said.
Australia, China, France, Japan, the United States, and the World Health Organization have all offered assistance.
Locals believe that heavy rain may have caused the landslide. Research shows that climate change-induced rain patterns could increase the risk of landslides. Papua New Guinea has one of the world’s wettest climates.
The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse all contributed to this report.
