The International Organization for Migration on Sunday increased its estimate of the death toll from a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea to more than 670 as emergency responders and traumatized relatives gave up hope that any survivors will now be found.
The chief of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in the South Pacific island nation, Serhan Aktoprak, said the revised death toll was based on calculations by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials that more than 150 homes had been buried by Friday’s landslide. The previous estimate had been 60 homes.
The once-bustling hillside village in Enga province was almost completely obliterated when the landslide struck in the early hours of Friday morning, burying scores of homes and the people sleeping inside.
More than 1,000 people have been displaced by the catastrophe, he added, with food gardens and water supplies almost completely wiped out.
The village was home to more than 4,000 people, serving as a trading post for alluvial miners who panned for the gold in the highlands region.
Locals said the landslide may have been triggered by heavy rains that have saturated the region in recent weeks.
Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, according to the World Bank, with the heaviest downpours concentrated in the humid highland regions.
