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Church members affected by PNG floods
Popondetta, Papua New Guinea
Melody Tan
A Seventh-day Adventist Church on the outskirts of the town of Popondetta has been washed away following devastating floods in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea.
The Bangoho Adventist Church, built about three years ago, was destroyed together with more than 10 homes belonging to Seventh-day Adventists, in this region north of Port Moresby. Teachers and their family members of the Adventist primary school at Inonda have also been evacuated.
At the time of writing, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported more than 70 people killed and another 55 people missing. This was a result of seven consecutive days of rain caused by Cyclone Guba.
Main bridges have been washed away, the airport has been closed with flights cancelled and the Oro Bay Wharf is closed for an indefinite period. Popendetta is currently cut off from the other districts, making it difficult for relief supplies to be delivered.
There is also a lack of clean drinking water following the destruction of the town’s main water supply. Electricity supply is anticipated to stop soon as transporting fuel to power the diesel generators are proving difficult.
“The township of Popondetta has become somewhat of an island with all roads coming in and out of town severed,” says Pastor Benny Soga, general secretary of the Adventist Church in the North East Papua region. “Nearly all the bridges over the rivers and creeks have been washed away, leaving steep chasms that are inaccessible by vehicles or negotiable by man.”
Pastor Soga fears there will be a food shortage as farmers from the villages are unable to provide any food since their gardens have been destroyed.
Affected church members are now at several of the care centres in town. There are no casualty reports involving church members, employees or their families, although exact details are still unclear.
“We have not heard much report from the outlying areas or if any church members have been victims of this disaster,” says Pastor Soga. “However, there are stories coming in that there are many lives lost to the raging waters.”
The government has been to the area to investigate the effects of the disaster and a State of Emergency is expected to be declared soon.
Residents in the Oro Province now fear a volcanic eruption at Mount Lamington. An eruption would be catastrophic as escape routes have all been destroyed.
Popondetta, Papua New Guinea
Melody Tan
A Seventh-day Adventist Church on the outskirts of the town of Popondetta has been washed away following devastating floods in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea.
The Bangoho Adventist Church, built about three years ago, was destroyed together with more than 10 homes belonging to Seventh-day Adventists, in this region north of Port Moresby. Teachers and their family members of the Adventist primary school at Inonda have also been evacuated.
At the time of writing, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported more than 70 people killed and another 55 people missing. This was a result of seven consecutive days of rain caused by Cyclone Guba.
Main bridges have been washed away, the airport has been closed with flights cancelled and the Oro Bay Wharf is closed for an indefinite period. Popendetta is currently cut off from the other districts, making it difficult for relief supplies to be delivered.
There is also a lack of clean drinking water following the destruction of the town’s main water supply. Electricity supply is anticipated to stop soon as transporting fuel to power the diesel generators are proving difficult.
“The township of Popondetta has become somewhat of an island with all roads coming in and out of town severed,” says Pastor Benny Soga, general secretary of the Adventist Church in the North East Papua region. “Nearly all the bridges over the rivers and creeks have been washed away, leaving steep chasms that are inaccessible by vehicles or negotiable by man.”
Pastor Soga fears there will be a food shortage as farmers from the villages are unable to provide any food since their gardens have been destroyed.
Affected church members are now at several of the care centres in town. There are no casualty reports involving church members, employees or their families, although exact details are still unclear.
“We have not heard much report from the outlying areas or if any church members have been victims of this disaster,” says Pastor Soga. “However, there are stories coming in that there are many lives lost to the raging waters.”
The government has been to the area to investigate the effects of the disaster and a State of Emergency is expected to be declared soon.
Residents in the Oro Province now fear a volcanic eruption at Mount Lamington. An eruption would be catastrophic as escape routes have all been destroyed.
Read more about the floods in the Oro Province.
