‘All Gone, All Vanished’ | Landslide Wipes Out Village in Papua New Guinea [Video]

A landslide has devastated the village of Yambali in Papua New Guinea. 
The UN estimates there have been 670 casualties.
 
That is over 15% of the village population of around 4,000. 
 
Papua New Guinea’s government fears that the death toll could be much higher.  
 
Estimates are difficult to make while many bodies remain buried, with only five bodies retrieved so far, as well as the limb of a sixth. 
 
Relief efforts have been complicated due to the remote location, lack of telecommunications and tribal wars in the area. 
 
Villagers have been seen digging with their bare hands through the mud, searching for their loved ones. 
 
“Currently at the moment, there are a lot of survivors here, mothers, children, lactating mothers, and there’s an elementary school that’s buried, fully buried. We have houses, buses, vehicles, hotels, guest houses, less or more (more or less), about 50 stores, mothers’ projects – all gone, all vanished. At the moment, this ward is asking the international government to relocate them to a different area because this is a high-risk (area) now.”
 
1,500 people are also estimated to have been displaced.
 
Many homes, shops and a 200-metre stretch of a highway have been buried. 
 
Devastated locals are holding funerals for the dead.

Authorities fear that a second landslide and disease outbreak could be imminent, due to water streams and bodies trapped in the mud. 
 
The debris is becoming more unstable with recent rainfall. 
 
Earth-moving equipment is expected to arrive soon, as well as an Australian disaster response team. 
 
The South Pacific Island has also requested additional help from the UN.

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