National office awaiting reports from West New Britain

THE National Disaster Office is still waiting to receive reports from the West New Britain disaster office regarding emergency needs following last week’s volcanic eruption.
Director Martin Mose said the office should provide a daily assessment report and its relief, distribution and evacuation plans.
“We need to know all this so that we know where to step in and what to assist with,” he said.
“My team met this morning, and if we still don’t get reports from the provincial office, then a team from Port Moresby will be sent in.”
However, WNB regional MP and State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel said there was no need for a provincial report as the disaster was nationally known and emergency needs should be automatic from the disaster office.
Mose said two 20ft containers filled with food and other relief supplies had reached the shores of WNB.
He thanked the Prime Minister James Marape for stepping and allocating K5 million as immediate relief for food supplies.
“We do not know if the funds will come through to our office at the national level or will go directly to the province. Either way is fine as long as it reaches the people,” Mose said.
“The situation is now a level one alert, but with no assessments reports from the provincial office, a team from Port Moresby may go in to assess the situation.”
Mose said NDC had assisted the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory with the hiring of a helicopter to assist in their aerial survey.
“With only one machine, they may not be able to monitor the area so we stepped in with the hiring of the chopper,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ulamona villagers said they wanted want to resettle in a safe area because they believed that Mt Ulawun was becoming too risky, according to Ulamona village councillor Blaise Luveni.
“The volcano is not giving the usual natural and technical signs of eruption. Luckily it only spewed ashes. If it was lava, we could all be dead by now,” Luveni said.
“In the 2000 and 2001 eruptions, we were fully prepared to move out because there were warnings like small rumblings and puffing of small smoke from the vent.
“Also volcanologists predicted eruption from technical readings four days earlier.
“But the last Wednesday’s eruption got all of us, including the volcanologist based in our village, completely off-guard.
He said signs were clear at about 8am and by noon, the villagers had started moving to the Kabaya Care Centre.
But the evacuation process was slow as we did not have enough vehicles and we had 2,272 villagers.
We have only three trucks and they had to travel about 10kms between the village and the centre.
Luveni said children were tired and hungry by evening so those with money put in to buy biscuits from the canteen,
There was a quarrel next morning when food arrived but it was soon settled.
WNB police commander John Midi has called on the people to respect one another and work together.
“The police are providing security for the transportation of the relief supplies to the relief centres,” he said.