Homes, gardens submerged

TWO young girls in the Lai Valley local level government in Mendi-Munihu, Southern Highlands, escaped from being drowned on Thursday when their homes were flooded after heavy rain.
Hundreds of people living along the river banks from Imbonggu and Nipa-Kutubu are recovering from the impacts of the flooding.
They lost homes, properties, food gardens and animals.
Lai Valley High School chairman and community leader Raphael Tonpi said rain began at the start of the month and had not let up since.
Tonpi said if it continued, many more people would be affected and the provincial disaster centre should be on alert to assess the situation.
“It is by the grace of the Lord that no lives have been lost and the girls are safe,” he told The National.
“The two girls could have been swept away but they were awakened by the water covering their bodies and they escaped uphill.”
Tonpi said he lost three hectares of his newly-planted vegetable garden in the flood and believed this was the same for many others.
He said water had reached halfway up high school teachers’ houses and boys’ dormitories and would submerged if rain continued.
He added that classes would be temporarily suspended if the rain continued.
Meanwhile, two footbridges along the same river in Imbonggu were swept away while the third did not look like would be able to withstand much pressure.
Mil-Werip Primary School teacher Michael John confirmed that people mourned after seeing their footbridges gone.
He said teachers and students who lived on the other side were cut off and they had half-day classes on Friday.
John said what remains of the Mil-Werip Bridge was likely to be swept away anytime and communities were to have a meeting during the weekend to try to have a new one built if help was given by the Government or any organisation.
“It has affected teachers, students, pastors, the locals and the provincial government and Imbonggu development authority needed to be prepared to help the people,” he said.
“The footbridge is their lifeline and in the future, permanent footbridge properly elevated needs to be constructed.”
John said he believed people living downstream might be affected too and the provincial and district disaster coordinating teams needed to move around to make assessments.
Attempts to call the provincial and district disaster coordinating teams were unsuccessful.