Landslide

Landslides are not uncommon in PNG.  Steep and muddy mountainsides combined with frequent rains, earthquakes, deforestation, etc. = recipe for disaster.  A few months ago, a landslide in the Southern Highlands pretty much wiped out a sleeping village.  

Last week, another mother of a landslide hit the Highlands Highway in Simbu Province.  The Highlands Highway is the only road connecting the coast with the highlands.  It is the supply route for all sorts of things coming in and out--from petrol to medical supplies to groceries.  Locals are demanding almost $5 million before they will allow the road to be repaired.  Even without that complication, it will likely take months before the road is open again.

As you can imagine, this is going to cause some major shortages for the hospital.  We rely on petrol to run the generator when the electricity goes out, which happens with some frequency.  Medical supplies such as IV fluids, oxygen, and medicines are already difficult to come by.  But the situation will likely become critical across the affected provinces.

Please pray!!!  Pray for peace among the local land owners.  Pray for the road to be cleared.  Pray that God will sustain the hospital until that happens.

"Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all mankind together will see it."

~ Isaiah 40:4-5