Drought ‘taking its toll’

THE drought in PNG is a big challenge for US military operations at the United States Pacific Command in Hawaii who continue to offer humanitarian assistance, its director operations Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery said.
Montgomery told The National that the El Nino and La Nino weather instigated-drought was a significant issue.
“It’s a challenging year for PNG. When we think about El Nino and La Nina in the United States it’s really bad bush fires that get out of control that lead to a lot of devastation but it doesn’t stop the economy.
“What’s happening in PNG and associated countries along the equatorial line is phenomenal; it’s really a shattering experience, that drought is going to have repercussions for a decade.
“It’s generally not comforting when you see the economy and amount of risk that we have for rural populations,” he said.
Montgomery said the US Pacific Command’s operations in PNG were particularly for humanitarian purposes especially disaster relief assistance.