Pruaitch puts disaster planning under spotlight

The National National

OPPOSITION Leader Patrick Pruaitch is urging the Prime Minister’s Office to advise on the level of preparedness the country has for potential destruction to homes and infrastructure caused by natural disasters in the New Guinea Islands region.
“In the last 48 hours there have been 12 earthquakes in the region measuring from 4 to a whopping 7 on the Richter scale,” he said in a statement.
“This area is known to be far more volatile than the Highlands region, and so our question is, when a string of disasters strike – earthquakes, tsunami and volcanoes – do our disaster management services have an adequate response plan?”
In the statement Pruaitch called for the following:

  • An immediate briefing to all MPs from the Disaster Management Office on current relief efforts for Hela, Southern Highlands and Western;
  • Immediate tabling of expenditure report for earthquake relief in the Highlands and Western, with weekly updates uploaded online for all interested parties to view; and
  • Development of a disaster plan for the New Guinea Islands region or tabling if one already exists given the region’s geological volatility.

Pruaitch said: “Let’s not be caught off guard again. More and more lives are being lost daily because of our lack of preparedness. The government is willing to spend billions of kina to prepare for the Apec, what is it spending to prepare for the potential emergency response required to save Papua New Guinean lives?
“How much? And in what areas? What about the rest of the country? Does the Office of Disaster Management have a plan for relief efforts in the most geologically active parts of the country?”