Floods endanger home

A RESIDENTIAL area near a section washed away by floods along 11-Mile in Lae is on the verge of collapsing into a creek due to constant flooding and erosion.
Owner of the building in the area Michael Kulame said his property may collapse due to sediments being washed off by floods.
“Erosion is taking place every day and it was evident when a coconut tree on the other side of the creek fell into my double-storey home last night and caused damage,” he said.
When The National visited the site this week, erosion had caused landslide which swallowed trees and land and pushed them into the creek. The double-storey home looked like it would collapse any time.
Kulame said he had been living in that area for more than 30 years but had not witnessed such damage before.
Two weeks ago the creek washed away a section of the road and caused disruption to traffic heading to Madang and the Highlands but a temporary bridge was built to restore the flow.
Kulame said his home, as well as his businesses, may perish into the flooded creek if erosion continued.
The Works Department has diverted the creek and erected a temporary barricade to prevent further erosion.
“The building is worth more than K200,000 and I am concerned about my home and business but this is also a national issue because this erosion can cause this temporary bridge to collapse as well,” he said.
Kulame claimed that a heavy equipment company diverted a number of creeks upstream and built a quarry which caused the creek to flow very fast, causing damage along the way.