Gembolg landslide leaves 20 families without gardens

THE current wet season experienced in some parts of the country continue to cause disasters and heart aches for some.
Take for example the Womkama community ward 16 and 17 of the Mt Wilhelm LLG area of Gembogl district in Chimbu.
According to local Tobby Sundu, 20 families lost their heavily cropped gardens of bulb onions, broccoli, kaukau, sugar cane and taro to landslides.
Sundu said the landslides had not stopped there but also made the way to block off many sections of the Kundiawa-Gembogl road from Kombrume Bridge to Bendam which made it impassable for vehicles.
He said the disasters were reported to the Kundiawa/Gembogl district authorities and they were on site to assess the situation.
The weather office is keeping a close watch over the current weather patterns and will warn the public as there is a 30 to 40 per cent chance of a tropical cyclone hitting the country.
“People should always be mindful of the weather and heed warnings during this wet and tropical weather conditions,” acting director of the National Weather Service Jimmy Gomoga said.
Gomoga warned the people to exercise more care during the rainy weather.
He said the weak La-Nina weather conditions were prevailing, resulting in the wetter than usual conditions. The country should be braced for more rainfall, mostly in the Southern region because of the wet and weather conditions.
“Port Moresby drivers be careful on the road during this rainy season,” Gomoga said.
“Areas of concern during the season are the Highlands, Mamose and Southern region – a lot of rain is expected to create high chances of landslides in the Highlands and possible strong winds and rough seas along the coast.”