By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Further landslides are likely to hit the area where part of a mountain collapsed two weeks ago on a remote village in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand geological experts warned on Friday, as authorities suspended search and rescue efforts ended.
It remains unclear how many people died in the massive landslide in PNG’s Enga region on May 24. The national government reports that more than 2,000 people have been buried alive and the death toll is around 670, according to UN estimates.
Only eleven bodies have been recovered so far.
New Zealand geotechnical engineers sent to Papua New Guinea released a report on Thursday raising concerns about the stability of the ground not only during the landslide but also on either side of it.
“We believe there is a real potential for further landslides in the short to medium term,” Aaron Waterreus, the leader of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) team, which includes the geotechnical engineers, said at a press conference on Friday . .
FENZ geotechnical engineer Jan Kupec added that the landslide, which covers about 14 hectares (35 acres), is of such a size that it is impossible to stop its movement and could continue to move for months or even years.
He said the rock avalanche was likely part of an ancient landslide that has been reactivated and there are now concerns that the onset of monsoon rains will liquefy material that has fallen from the hillside and cause the landslide to react again.
The Enga provincial government announced mass evacuations of further areas around the landslide on Thursday due to concerns about further landslides.
The government has stopped searching for bodies and the area is considered a mass cemetery.
According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, more than 7,200 people have been displaced by the landslide, and the number could increase.
Treacherous terrain and tribal unrest in the area meant heavy equipment and aid were slow to arrive, and PNG government officials ruled out a week ago that any survivors would be found under the rubble.
According to the IOM, the disaster site will be quarantined and access will be restricted to prevent the spread of disease from rotting bodies.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
