Four Young Lives Lost in PNG’s Tambul Nebilyer as Landslip Hits During Night of Torrential Rain
In a remote corner of Papua New Guinea’s Western Highlands, a night of torrential rain ended in unimaginable grief when a landslip swept through the Kulumindi community, killing four children and leaving their family and neighbors in mourning. The disaster—occurring late Friday in Tambul Nebilyer District—is being blamed on weeks of intense, unceasing rainfall that destabilized the mountain slopes families have lived on for generations.
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| Four Young Lives Lost in PNG’s Tambul Nebilyer as Landslip Hits During Night of Torrential Rain [Photo by PNG Current Events/FB] |
Around 10 p.m., a section of hillside above a family compound gave way, crashing onto a thatched kunai home where six children lay asleep with their mother. Four—ages 12, seven, five, and a two-month-old infant—were buried instantly. Only the mother and one older child survived, both sustaining injuries. The children’s father, away in Jiwaka Province for a church event, returned to find his house gone and his youngest gone forever.
Lisbon Mini, the children’s grieving uncle, described the scene as “a punishment we didn’t deserve.” He recalled a smaller landslip in the same area 15 years ago, but emphasized that this was unlike anything the community had ever witnessed. “That time, we rebuilt. This time, we have nothing left to rebuild with.”
Mark Talupa, a local leader in Upper Kagul, pointed to the abnormal weather as the clear trigger. “The rain didn’t stop for days,” he said. “It was like the sky had opened and forgotten to close.”
The Provincial Disaster Office in Mt Hagen has dispatched officers to Kulumindi to deliver emergency assistance and evaluate risks for other households perched on vulnerable slopes. Authorities are urging highland residents near rivers and steep terrain to remain vigilant as forecasts predict continued heavy rainfall.
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