Disaster centre finds 79,000 displaced in 12 years

National

MORE than 79,000 people have been displaced following natural disasters in the country in the past 12 years, according to the National Disaster Centre.
Centre director Martin Mose revealed this during the opening of a week-long workshop in Port Moresby on mass evacuation and disaster preparedness conducted by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the National Disaster Centre.
“The movement of people from one place to another is inevitable,” Mose said.
“And every year, we have many people being moved from one place to another.”
He said migration was caused by natural disasters and tribal fights.
Mose said between 2005 and last year, about 79500 people were displaced in PNG.
“That is according to our data at the National Disaster Centre,” Mose said.
“And 79,500 people is not a small population who can be easily managed.”
“We cannot deny that we are not faced with people being displaced from where they used to be living comfortably in search of a better place to live because of natural disasters and human-induced forces.”
Mose urged provincial disaster coordinators to be proactive in their work.
“Provincial disaster coordinators must plan ahead and organise yourselves well to coordinate disaster response in your province,” Mose said.
IOM in-country disaster coordinator Wonesai Sithole said one of the greatest problems in PNG was the lack of evacuation and post-disaster recovery actions. “When there is a disaster, we evacuate people and settle them in a temporary resettlement centre, and then forget to facilitate their permanent resettlement,” he said.
Manan Islanders in Madang were forced to leave by a volcanic eruption.
The Carteret Islanders in Bougainville were forced to move because of the rise in sea level.