15 Jan 2013

Thousands of homes flooded in PNG's Oro Province

2:23 pm on 15 January 2013

Two weeks of continuous rain in Papua New Guinea's Oro Province has left most villages under water, crops damaged, and fuel supplies running dangerously low.

The Provincial Administrator Owen Awaita says the situation will get worse with another month of rain forecast.

Mr Awaita says all villages throughout the province have reported flooding and those communities have organised their own make-shift tents on higher ground for people, whose houses have been damaged or washed away.

He says a report is being sent to the National Disaster Office today, and they are expecting a response from the Government soon.

"It's very bad, most of the villages their homes are under water, food gardens are inaccessible, everything is under water and obviously by the time it dries up we are expecting water borne diseases and all that to follow, food will be rotten, water will be polluted."

Owen Awaita says damage to key bridges has cut off some areas and says there are less than two days left of fuel to keep critical services running like hospitals.