Storm leaves Milne Bay islanders homeless, hungry

ABOUT 15,000 people are facing food shortage as a result of a storm on Goodenough Island in Milne Bay last month, a resident says.
Rain and cyclone-force winds swept through the island, destroying houses and food gardens and leaving villagers hungry in the aftermath. The worst hit villages were Diodio, Aikawa, Waibula, Ufaufa, Ibawana, Watuluma, Idakamenai, Ulutuya and Hiyavali.
“The strong winds flattened the people’s bush material houses, leaving only house posts, and destroyed gardens of yams, bananas and sago palms,” Benedict Towawala, of Ulutuya village, said.
The councillor from Aikawa village said 85 houses in his village were destroyed.
Thousands of people are currently faced with food shortage and are sustaining themselves with wild yams and coconuts, Bede Tomokita, the president of Goodenough Island Development Association, told The National.
Tomokita said new gardens would take six to eight months to produce food .
“There is an urgent need for relief food supplies like rice to feed the people while they wait for their gardens to grow,” he said.
Tomokita said there was some relief supplies given by Kiriwina-Goodenough MP Douglas Tomuriesa and the Catholic Church but not enough.
“I am appealing to the national government, donor agencies and business houses to assist us with relief supplies.”
Tomokita said Goodenough islanders living in Port Moresby had started raising funds to help their people at home.
They plan to run a wheel-barrow campaign through the city next weekend to raise funds.”
Meanwhile, seven primary schools in the area and Santa Maria Secondary School in Watuluma have suspended classes to allow for repairs to be done to damaged classrooms.
Tomokita said communication was also cut-off because the only telecommunication tower set up by Digicel at Mt Oyava’ai near Santa Maria Secondary was destroyed by the storm.