Family safe after home destroyed

By PETER WARI
A FAMILY is thanking God none of them was at home on Monday afternoon when a landslide caused by an aftershock carried their home down a hill.
Peter Pond, wife Grace and their six children are now living in a temporary home at Tente village in the Mendi-Munihu district in Southern Highlands.
They discovered what had happened to their home when they returned later in the day.
The kitchen and water tank had disappeared. The home was about 10 metres down the slope.
Grace Pond, who works at the Mendi Provincial Hospital laundry, said she was informed by friends what had happened and went to check.
“I was shocked,” she said.
“If it was during the night, some of us would have died.
“The Lord did not want my family to die or get injured by the landslip as the disaster occurred during the day when no one was at home.”
Peter Pond said they suspected something big was going to happen when a landslip occurred on the side of the road near the home.
“We were always on alert,” he said.
“We were pretty sure that our home will be swept away anytime.”
Pond, who works at the Commerce Department, thanked God for protecting his family.
Provincial police commander Chief Supt Joseph Tondop, the deputy chairman of the provincial disaster committee, said the risk of more landslides was still high.