Four-month-old baby saved from house carried by landslide

By DOROTHY MARK
A FOUR-month-old baby was saved when the family home was carried downhill by a landslide which hit a village in Madang on Wednesday night.
The disaster was reported to the Madang provincial disaster office by Robin Maisen who travelled from Wanuma yesterday.
Maisen said three homes built on a hillside were swept away by the landslide on Wednesday evening.
One was empty because the family members were having their dinner in the kitchen built away from the home and were not affected. The occupants of the second home managed to run out before it was carried downhill.
They had heard the screams from neighbours and escaped just in time.
The third home belonged to a newly married couple. The baby was sleeping in a bilum hanging inside the house. The landslide moved the house down the hill but the side where the baby was got struck on a tree.
Maisen said the baby’s cry alerted the villagers.
“The baby’s father climbed the tree and managed to save his baby,” he said.
Madang provincial disaster office director Rudolf Mongallee said he had been warning people to take precautions during heavy rain.
“I can’t do much more to educate people but to issue warnings after warnings,” Mongallee said.