Jiwaka poor on disaster response

PREVALENT flooding is threatening the people of Waghi Valley in Jiwaka.
The fertile river banks have provided the avenue where agriculture activities have flourished for generations.
That value chain and abundant provisions that sustained livelihoods is facing enormous threat from imminent changes in weather patterns.
Locals experience land loss every single day whenever there is heavy rainfall, causing tidal floods.
Life along the banks of Waghi River is scary, a terrifying experience for the people who brace for the worst every day.
Massive land loss is a nightmare for the inhabitants who have called Waghi River banks their home.
Significant portion of land where food gardens and coffee once grew, land on which hamlets were situated, or sacred sites such as graveyards once stood have given way or were lost forever to the torrential current.
Victims have pleaded for recovery interventions and mitigation efforts from the provincial government and administration to address the natural phenomena, but all cries have fallen on deaf ears.
The recent occurrence of natural disasters, especially flooding along the Waghi River, has again wreaked havoc.
The flood caused by continuous rain has devastated dozens of homes, food gardens, hunting grounds, cash crops, and displaced families, who are now without food, shelter and water for drinking. Their hopes are slim because they know that no one will hear them or respond, even if they make the attempt.
The provincial disaster office, an extension of functions from the National Disaster Centre, has been doing all it could whenever there are instances of disaster in varying degrees.

Concerned Jiwakan
Port Moresby