Locals standing near River Mombol. Image supplied by Lydia Kumb from Banz
By Vasinatta Yama – EM TV News, Mt Hagen
A family of three has been killed in a flood during the weekend in Banz, Jiwaka Province.
Locals have retrieved the bodies of the husband and wife, but a rescue team is still searching for their four-year-old son.
River Mombol in North Waghi Electorate burst its banks in the early hours of Saturday morning leaving many homeless.
Acting Jiwaka Provincial Police Commander, Inspector Horim Piamia, confirmed that more than 100 houses have been swept away by the flood.
The flood occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning at 2am, after a heavy downpour.
The villagers living near Wara Mombol were not prepared for the disaster as it never happened before.
The family of three were the first to be swept away by the flood. Two bridges bordering North Waghi and Jimi Electorate also collapsed cutting off Jimi people from entering the township.
More than two hundred families lost their houses, food gardens, and properties during the flood.
Today is the third day after the flood and the local people are looking for food, clean water and shelter. This afternoon, administration staff of the North Waghi Electorate office supplied food rations to the affected people.
Almost five villages are affected by the flood and more than 2,000 people left homeless. More than 10 people are receiving treatment at the hospital.
The National Disaster Centre has already been alerted of this natural disaster.
