The Defence Force "stands ready" to respond to Papua New Guinea's devastating landslide with $1.5 million in relief support pledged, the Government has announced.
More than 2000 people were buried alive by Friday's landslide in remote Enga province, according to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Disaster Centre.
Local authorities currently fear a second landslide and a disease outbreak at the scene of the mass-casualty disaster with water streams and bodies trapped beneath debris.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins released a joint statement outlining the New Zealand Government's response early this evening.
Peters said: "We are ready to go and provide support to PNG authorities when they are able to receive it. The precise timing and details of our support will be confirmed in conjunction with PNG authorities in the coming days."
New Zealand's "offer of support" includes the deployment of a Defence Force C-130 Hercules aircraft to deliver relief supplies to affected communities.
Additionally, Kiwi technical experts would be sent to PNG to assist, including "in the areas of geo-hazards and emergency management". Financial assistance to "provide humanitarian relief to affected areas" has also been offered.
Peters said the aid had been "estimated to be worth around $1.5 million".
The Foreign Minister said: "Ever since learning of the horrendous landslide on Friday, New Zealand has been determined to play our part in assisting Papua New Guinea's response.
"Papua New Guinea has expressed appreciation for our offer and we are working with PNG authorities to confirm priorities to best support those most in need."
Meanwhile, Collins said the army has a "long, proud history of assisting Pacific Island countries in need".
"This disaster has caused immense suffering, and the New Zealand Defence Force stands ready to play its part in the response."
Earlier today, Australia pledged NZ$2.7 million in initial aid. The country's pacific minister, Pat Conroy, described the situation as "incredibly grim" and sent his condolences.
'Another landslide could happen'
A mass of boulders, earth and splintered trees devastated Yambali in the PNG's remote highlands when a limestone mountainside sheared away on Friday.
The blanket of debris has become more unstable with recent rain and streams trapped between the ground and rubble, said Serhan Aktoprak, chief of the International Organisation for Migration’s mission in Papua New Guinea.
The UN agency has officials at the scene in Enga province helping shelter 1600 displaced people. The agency estimates 670 villagers died, while Papua New Guinea’s government has told the United Nations it thinks more than 2000 people were buried.
Five bodies had been retrieved from the rubble by Monday.
“We are hearing suggestions that another landslide can happen and maybe 8,000 people need to be evacuated,” Aktoprak told The Associated Press.
“This is a major concern. The movement of the land, the debris, is causing a serious risk, and overall the total number of people that may be affected might be 6000 or more."
That includes villagers whose source of clean drinking water has been buried and subsistence farmers who lost their vegetable gardens.
“If this debris mass is not stopped, if it continues moving, it can gain speed and further wipe out other communities and villages further down” the mountain, Aktoprak said.
Scenes of villagers digging with their bare hands through muddy debris in search of their relatives’ remains were also concerning.
“My biggest fear at the moment is corpses are decaying, ... water is flowing and this is going to poise serious health risks in relation to contagious diseases,” Aktoprak said.
Aktoprak’s agency was raising those concerns at a disaster management virtual meeting of national and international responders on Tuesday.
The warning comes as geotechnical experts and heavy earth-moving equipment are expected to reach the site soon.
On Sunday, the Papua New Guinea government officially asked the United Nations for additional help and to coordinate contributions from individual nations.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press and AAP
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