PNG needs a national emergency plan for disasters

NATIONAL Disaster Centre (NDC) director Martin Mose said the disaster prevention and disaster reduction management are the main focus for the centre until the Government comes up with a national emergency plan for the country.
He said NDC had been involved in conducting disaster awareness programmes on disaster prevention and reduction for provinces in the country that were prone to disasters like floods, tsunami and earthquakes while discussions on delivering a national plan was taking place.
“We have been working in line with the Rabaul Volcanology Observatory (RVO), Geophysics Observatory in Hawaii including disaster officers and even schools in provinces to disseminate information on disaster prevention, and on what to do before and when disaster strikes and where to go for help,” Mr Mose said.
He said the RVO was leading awareness programmes on earthquakes in coastal villages including Milne Bay, Bougainville and Oro province.
“NDC also did massive awareness in Aitape, Sandaun province, and Madang and had distributed awareness materials to communities and schools.”
Mr Mose, in a previous interview, said the country did not have a national emergency plan to act on in response to imminent threats from natural disasters.
However, he said NDC and its stakeholders were currently looking at drafting one.