Are we disaster ready?

 THE Solomon Islands is still reeling from the devastating floods a fortnight ago.The damaged caused, along with the number of dead or missing people was significant. 

Papua New Guinea’s close neighbour will take a long time to rebuild the after devastating flash floods that killed at least 23 people, while 40 are still missing and an estimated 49,000 people are homeless. 

The cost in infrastructure damage to roads, bridges and housing has been immense. 

The ordeal has strained government relief efforts and no doubt many Solomon Islanders are coming to terms in the aftermath of the floods.

Entire riverside communities and bridges were washed away when the Matanikau River, in Honiara, broke its banks. 

The government declared a state of emergency. 

Water supplies and infrastructure, including sewerage, electricity have been damaged. 

Parts of PNG felt the fury of Cyclone Ita. Parts of Milne Bay experienced heavy rains and winds which impacted local island communities in the province’s north east. 

Having the Solomon Islands as an example, PNG must take heed of the need to be disaster ready, especially from such forces as cyclones and earthquakes. 

The threat these forces pose to PNG are potentially far greater due to the larger population and the lack of effective transport networks particularly on land. 

This country has already been tested on its ability to react to, and manage major accidents and emergencies. 

The major problem has been the response time. 

The National Emergency and Disaster office along with all relevant government and provincial bodies must take stock of its capabilities, and deficiencies, and work towards strengthening them not just for the future but for the present. Reliable and consistent lines of communication are a must. One of the most important aspects of emergency management is information. 

Rescuers and relief suppliers need to know what the state of play is on the ground in order to coordinate the best possible response. 

PNG is usually referred to as a country with rugged terrain and under-developed transport infrastructure. 

This has been true for a long time but thankfully advances in communication technology have provided a means for people at the epicentre of these disasters to at least get word to emergency services. 

Who could forget the pictures loaded on social media site Facebook of huge waves off the Huon coast buffeting the ferry Rabaul Queen on its ill-fated journey from Rabaul to Lae on February 2, 2012. 

Emergency services were at least made aware of the sinking within minutes of it happening. 

However, the sad fact remains that national emergency services had little in the way of rescue capability. 

Fortunately, passing merchant ships and Australia military aircraft were able to affect a rescue operation within an hour of the sinking. A joint rescue effort by PNG and Australia was formed shortly after the sinking and 246 survivors were rescued by nightfall on the same day. As of Feb 5, the bodies of six victims had been recovered, but no other survivors were found. 

Over 100 were still missing. 

On Feb 10, it was reported that the number of people rescued had been re-calculated as 237, and that the number of people missing (based on new information from relatives of those onboard) was 321. 

This would indicate that some 558 people were aboard the vessel. It was only permitted to carry 310. 

The other major disaster in recent memory that tested the state was the tsunami that hit the coastline of Aitape, Sandaun. A tsunami struck the Sissano Peninsula on the night of July 17, 1998. Sixteen villages were destroyed and some 8,000 citizens were drowned in the devastating wave. 

It took the national government agencies, assisted by the international aid organisations and governments, several months to bring back a sense of normalcy to the area. 

In a way, PNG is fortunate to have international help at hand from close neighbour Australia, among others, but that is still no excuse for complacency. 

It is not a matter if disaster strikes but when.