District sends officials to assess landslide damage

THE Mul-Baiyer district administration in Western Highlands has dispersed officers to the landslide affected areas in Baiyer to collect information and assess damage so that a full report can be compiled and presented to the concerned authorities, a senior public servant says.
Mul-Baiyer development authority deputy chief executive officer Robert Rumba said the district staff had been sent to the impacted area to compile information for the report.
He said the people affected were from Antinga, Geg and Ukini villages in Baiyer.
Rumba said hundreds had fled their villages while many others had lost their homes, domestic animals, food crops and cash crops such as coffee.
Rumba said his office was waiting for the report to be finalised.
He said he visited the affected villages after the landslide occured on Jan 4.
“These people depend on the natural environment but now that most are covered by mud and debris they are struggling to return to live their normal lives,” he said.
“This was one of the biggest landslides which could have wiped out the entire villages.”
Rumba said natural disasters seemed to become a threat to the normal livelihood of the people.
He confirmed that Western Highlands disaster coordinator Robin Yakamb had visited the sites this week.
Rumba said the victims had not received any support.
He advised the people to take precautions and not to build homes and gardens at the foot of steep hills or on the side of mountains or on the banks of rivers where landslides were likely to occur.