We've just returned from an extremely nice lunch and very pleasant couple of hours with Kambowa Kukyuwa, his wife Nora, two of their children, plus some other friends including the pastor of Mount Hagen Baptist Church, the church we go to.
Kambowa works for MAF, but long before he joined MAF we knew him and Nora from church. Their daughter, Gloria, their eldest child, has applied for and been accepted for flight training at MAF's flight school in Mareeba. Her course will start in April, so she is getting excited.
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As with just about any gathering of people during the last week, conversation included discussion about the earthquake early last Monday morning.
At 03:44 everybody was wakened by a violent shaking which kept on going. Tremors, gentle rockings, are not uncommon and nobody thinks anything of them. This time, though, it was a case of grab some clothes and get out of the house - it was the first full earthquake we've experienced and the force of the shock can be judged by the fact that we live roughly 100 miles from the epicentre.
Very little damage occurred in Hagen, other than breakages in the supermarkets where goods fell off shelves, but further to the west, the impact of a 7.6 earthquake was more severe. The epicentre was very close to the large liquid natural gas (LNG) project centre. I haven't heard just how much damage was done there, but the plant has been shut down for repairs. The large airstrip built to service it has been closed due to large cracks in the asphalt surface. Nearby Tari airport has had the runway shortened by over 500m due to damage.
If an earthquake of that strength had occurred in an urban area the devastation would, I'm certain, have been severe, and the number of casualties very significant. Apart from the two main centres of Tari and Mendi which have been affected, most of the impact has been to rural communities where landslips and collapsed houses have caused casualties.
The official death toll at the moment is a mercifully low 24, though how accurate this is I have no means of knowing. One woman MAF medevaced to Hagen lost 13 members of her family including her new-born baby; she's the only survivor.
***********
From the air it is difficult to assess the damage accurately. There are some buildings that have been badly damaged, and people in an aircraft sent specifically to look for damage saw road blocks from landslides and collapsed or damaged buildings. When I flew on Thursday I could see some massive landslides, some new, and some existing ones that have been enlarged.
The Australian Defence Force was given permission/requested by the PNG government to assist, but for some unknown reason, as of Friday afternoon, aid agencies and NGOs that could supply food, water, clothing and shelter had not been allowed to help. The ADF and other organisations such as MAF are standing by, able, ready and willing to fly relief to the affected communities, but apart from the Adventist Aviation, who have some funds to buy some fish, rice and water themselves, not much has been able to be done yet. I very much hope this will change by tomorrow.
***********
Water is definitely an issue for some places. Some rivers and streams have been blocked by landslides, backing up and polluting sources used for drinking and raising the risk of disease, as well as the risk of flash flooding when the dam is eventually breached.
It's reported that some streams and rivers have simply disappeared, either re-routed by a landslide, or diverted into an underground course, which is very possible in an area which has a lot of limestone.
***********
On a personal note, I've been itching to get in an aircraft and take aid to where it's needed. Whether it's me or not, I would be a lot happier to know that MAF had aircraft in the air, working with the ADF and other organisations to ensure that traumatised and injured people are getting help, and that food and water is reaching them. Sitting doing nothing, or knowing that very little is being done, is difficult.
***********
There have been a lot of aftershocks, back down to the gentle rocking tremors here in Hagen, but still often in the Richter 4-6 scale near Tari. One of these brought down an already weakened bush house on its owner, causing him injury and the need to be flown out for treatment.
In Telefomin the quake caused a number of water tanks to rupture (even one on the MAF compound in Goroka, about 200 miles from the epicentre, split, though it was an old one and rather rusty). The ADF has been very helpful in flying replacement tanks to Telefomin for us, which is much appreciated and has enabled us to send larger ones than we could have delivered using our own resources.
***********
Any other news is rather eclipsed by this event.
During the coming week we'll be tidying up loose ends, finishing up leftovers and packing. This time next week (16:10 in PNG, 06:10 Sunday morning in the UK) we should have been on the ground for about an hour. We will ensure that some warm clothes are in the top of our suitcases so we can add some layers before we step outside the terminal door.
See you soon!
Kambowa works for MAF, but long before he joined MAF we knew him and Nora from church. Their daughter, Gloria, their eldest child, has applied for and been accepted for flight training at MAF's flight school in Mareeba. Her course will start in April, so she is getting excited.
***********
As with just about any gathering of people during the last week, conversation included discussion about the earthquake early last Monday morning.
At 03:44 everybody was wakened by a violent shaking which kept on going. Tremors, gentle rockings, are not uncommon and nobody thinks anything of them. This time, though, it was a case of grab some clothes and get out of the house - it was the first full earthquake we've experienced and the force of the shock can be judged by the fact that we live roughly 100 miles from the epicentre.
Very little damage occurred in Hagen, other than breakages in the supermarkets where goods fell off shelves, but further to the west, the impact of a 7.6 earthquake was more severe. The epicentre was very close to the large liquid natural gas (LNG) project centre. I haven't heard just how much damage was done there, but the plant has been shut down for repairs. The large airstrip built to service it has been closed due to large cracks in the asphalt surface. Nearby Tari airport has had the runway shortened by over 500m due to damage.
If an earthquake of that strength had occurred in an urban area the devastation would, I'm certain, have been severe, and the number of casualties very significant. Apart from the two main centres of Tari and Mendi which have been affected, most of the impact has been to rural communities where landslips and collapsed houses have caused casualties.
The official death toll at the moment is a mercifully low 24, though how accurate this is I have no means of knowing. One woman MAF medevaced to Hagen lost 13 members of her family including her new-born baby; she's the only survivor.
***********
From the air it is difficult to assess the damage accurately. There are some buildings that have been badly damaged, and people in an aircraft sent specifically to look for damage saw road blocks from landslides and collapsed or damaged buildings. When I flew on Thursday I could see some massive landslides, some new, and some existing ones that have been enlarged.
The Australian Defence Force was given permission/requested by the PNG government to assist, but for some unknown reason, as of Friday afternoon, aid agencies and NGOs that could supply food, water, clothing and shelter had not been allowed to help. The ADF and other organisations such as MAF are standing by, able, ready and willing to fly relief to the affected communities, but apart from the Adventist Aviation, who have some funds to buy some fish, rice and water themselves, not much has been able to be done yet. I very much hope this will change by tomorrow.
***********
Water is definitely an issue for some places. Some rivers and streams have been blocked by landslides, backing up and polluting sources used for drinking and raising the risk of disease, as well as the risk of flash flooding when the dam is eventually breached.
It's reported that some streams and rivers have simply disappeared, either re-routed by a landslide, or diverted into an underground course, which is very possible in an area which has a lot of limestone.
***********
On a personal note, I've been itching to get in an aircraft and take aid to where it's needed. Whether it's me or not, I would be a lot happier to know that MAF had aircraft in the air, working with the ADF and other organisations to ensure that traumatised and injured people are getting help, and that food and water is reaching them. Sitting doing nothing, or knowing that very little is being done, is difficult.
***********
There have been a lot of aftershocks, back down to the gentle rocking tremors here in Hagen, but still often in the Richter 4-6 scale near Tari. One of these brought down an already weakened bush house on its owner, causing him injury and the need to be flown out for treatment.
In Telefomin the quake caused a number of water tanks to rupture (even one on the MAF compound in Goroka, about 200 miles from the epicentre, split, though it was an old one and rather rusty). The ADF has been very helpful in flying replacement tanks to Telefomin for us, which is much appreciated and has enabled us to send larger ones than we could have delivered using our own resources.
***********
Any other news is rather eclipsed by this event.
During the coming week we'll be tidying up loose ends, finishing up leftovers and packing. This time next week (16:10 in PNG, 06:10 Sunday morning in the UK) we should have been on the ground for about an hour. We will ensure that some warm clothes are in the top of our suitcases so we can add some layers before we step outside the terminal door.
See you soon!
