ENB dry spell to continue

East New Britain is expected to continue to experience drought throughout this month, says provincial division of disaster and emergency services.
Division director Donald Tokunai said the province had been hit by a dry spell since early June this year.
He said the province had been monitoring the situation on the ground and reporting to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Tokunai said people in rural communities and institutions had been suffering and were in dire need of water.
He said while the NWS continued to monitor the situation and report on any severe effects and the extent of the drought, people were urged to stop making unnecessary bushfires.
“People should ensure their water sources are protected so that the water is safe to consume,” he said.
“I am also urging owners of the water sources not to overcharge but impose a reasonable fee for those people wanting to fetch water.”
While raising these concerns, Tokunai also encouraged people in villages to see the importance of having water tanks as it could save them the hustle of looking for water.
Other provinces that were also experiencing this dry spell included East and West Sepik, Madang, New Ireland, Milne Bay, Central and some parts of the Highlands region, especially Enga.
Doris Darius, from Tinganalom village in the Raluana local level government, Kokopo, said that they were also experiencing dry spell at their village.
Doris, a shop assistant at Top Brat Trading Ltd, said she was grateful to her employer for allowing her and fellow assistants to fetch water at the workplace and take home for cooking and drinking.
The most affected wards were in Raluana LLG, Kokopo.