March 28, 2018
By UN Children Fund

...Botten (click here) is all emotion as he describes the loss and hardship of those living in quake zone....


Port Moresby – One month (click here) after a series of earthquakes of magnitude 5-7.5 hit four Highlands provinces of Papua New Guinea, children are still in shock and suffering significant trauma and stress which could have negative consequences to their long-term well-being, UNICEF said today.

“Children are still being confronted by fear, loss, confusion, family separation, deteriorated living conditions and disruption of social and school activities,” said Karen Allen, UNICEF Representative for PNG. “Psychological damage among children should not be overlooked. It can have a negative impact on children’s brain development, mental health and overall wellbeing in the long-run.”

Children who have suffered from trauma have an increased risk of delayed development, mental health disorders, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide, she added.

Before the earthquakes, children in PNG were already at high risk of violence and abuse. Available data indicate that girls and boys in PNG experience some of the highest rates of violence in Asia-Pacific region. About 75 per cent of children report experiences of physical abuse and about 80 per cent experience emotional abuse during their lifetime. A recent Médecins Sans Frontières report showed that 12,000 cases of family and sexual violence are treated each year in Tari Family Support Centre located in Hela Province, where the worst earthquake damage occurred....

Continued from link above at picture:

...The first big quake killed at least 145 people and more fatalities are expected as first responders make their way to villages still left isolated by roads cut off by a combination of landslips and rock falls. Subsequent shocks are reported to have killed a further 36 people.

Botten said that nearly 30,000 people continue to rely on emergency aid and that the majority of that will be carried "the last mile" by Oil Search helicopters flying out of the company's Southern Highland's logistics hub at Moro.

Those Oil Search helicopters have so far made 125 supply drops to villages, moving 150 tonnes of food and medical supplies. Those same copters are ferrying the injured back to medical centres....

The "Shake Map" doesn't show the entire picture. The "Felt Map" is widespread impact (click here).

This part of the world has been having a rough summer season with severe storms. Now this.