On May 24 in the early hours of the morning, heavy rains triggered a deadly landslide in Northern Papua New Guinea, burying unknown numbers of people under the rubble—estimates vary from close to 700 up to 2,000.
Search and rescue operations are still underway, and the country’s National Disaster Centre has declared this landslide one of the deadliest disasters in the country’s recent history.
The landslide, which struck the Enga Province at around 3am local time, has also buried homes, farmland and vital infrastructure under up to eight metres of debris. Around 1,650 people have been displaced by the disaster, and the region’s sources of clean drinking water have become inaccessible.
Australian Baptists have a long history of supporting the people of Papua New Guinea, and Baptist World Aid has a strong partnership with the Baptist Union of PNG in helping communities build their resilience in the face of disasters and poverty.
Your gift today can help provide families impacted by the landslide with:
• Emergency food packages which include oil, rice, and noodles, so impacted families won’t go hungry
• Clothing for those whose possessions were destroyed by the landslide
• Tools, gardening supplies, and shelter repair kits to help families recover
• Mental health support—training sessions for church volunteers on how to deliver psychological first aid, and mental health care training for primary healthcare providers, educators, and local government personnel.
As always, we pray that God would mobilise his people to help those who need it most at this time. Please pray with us, as we trust in the sovereign goodness of our God.
*Last updated 24 July, 2024.
