Floods ravaged villages

By LULU MARK
NORMAL activities by more than 800 people in several Orokolo villages in Kikori, Gulf have been put on hold for weeks as they wait for flood waters to recede, a community representative says.
United Church Orokolo circuit minister Rev Oscar Kuni told The National yesterday that three major floods last month caused by heavy rain had forced the closure of a school and affected church and other community activities in the area.
Kuni said the first happened from May 5-7, the second on May 12-13, and the third from May 25-29 and it had rained heavily again on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Kuni said the community had been coping with the state of emergency and lockdown due to the Covid-19 and also had to deal with the flooding.
He said gardens had been impacted, with food crops washed away or submerged.
He said infrastructure such as roads and bridges had been affected and it was difficult for people to move around to access healthcare and other services.
“People are just sitting in their houses which are built off the ground and use rafts to get to their gardens in the bushes,” Kuni said.
“The land is flat here so when there is continuous heavy rain the three creeks in the bushes flood and the water flows into the village.
“It takes a while for the water level to go down.”
Kuni said consistent wet weather and repeated flooding meant the waterlogged areas would take a long time to dry up.
Villages and communities of Orokolo such as Kavava, Mareke and the Iuku were badly affected.
Kuni appealed for the provincial government to send relief supplies and assist the people.