More than 150 people are feared dead and more than 133,000 people have been affected by the recent flooding caused by Cyclone Guba over three provinces in the Southern region of Papua New Guinea.

According to official reports, Ijivitari and Sohe districts in Oro province, situated several hundred kilometres from the capital Port Moresby, have suffered the most destruction, with houses, gardens, bridges, roads, schools, hospitals destroyed or seriously damaged. Central and Milne Bay provinces have also been hit.

Eight major bridges have been washed away, cutting off 143,000 people from the main city of Popondetta. This has made assessments and emergency interventions very difficult. In addition, unavailability of choppers and strong winds in the Southern region have prevented an earlier deployment.

On November 23, an interagency task force, comprising representatives from agencies including World Vision, OCHA, Oxfam, Care, PNG Red Cross and government agencies will enter Oro to conduct a rapid assessment.

World Vision's National Director for the Pacific, Paolo Ferraris, has been working with the task force since the onset of the disaster to identify the most appropriate intervention and support for people affected. World Vision has also taken part in daily briefings with government representatives. The government's National Disaster Committee coordinates all relief operations in PNG.

At this stage, destruction is estimated at 200 million kina (approx 60 million dollars). The Government of PNG declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and solicited support with relief activities. The immediate needs are water, food, shelter, medicine, with many of the isolated communities in affected provinces having gone now for almost a week without food and water.

Recent reports are signaling that 10 people have died in the past days of hunger. People are reportedly surviving in drifting canoes, diving where their gardens used to be in search of root vegetables rotten from the salt water exposure.

It is feared that lack of potable water and dire conditions in which survivors are living in will lead to a medical emergency of proportions, with medicines in short and discontinued supply even before the flooding.

In addition, delays in the relief intervention have caused frustration among the population and protests. Some public servants confronted government representatives to express dismay over the chaotic response to the crisis.

Australia and New Zealand governments as well as the French and US Embassies in Port Moresby have expressed their availability to provide financial assistance to the relief intervention.

World Vision does not have existing programmes in the affected areas and current operations have not been affected.

For media enquiries: Paolo Ferraris National Director, World Vision Pacific Development Group mob: +67 5697 7042