Cyclone Maila kills 23 in PNG, triggers landslides and state of emergency

Jelta Wong, the Member of Parliament for the Gazelle District in PNG's East New Britain Province, told The National newspaper that 10 people died when they were buried by a landslide in the remote Lamarain village on Sunday.

He said that all 10 bodies were successfully recovered and described the loss as a "profound sorrow" for the community, reports Xinhua news agency.

The landslide was caused by continuous heavy rainfall brought by Severe Tropical Cyclone, which hit eastern PNG over the weekend, causing widespread damage.

Randal Ganisi, the disaster coordinator in the Milne Bay Province, told The National that two deaths have been reported in the region.

He said that teams have been deployed to island communities to assess how many people have been displaced and the extent of damage.

It comes after 11 deaths were reported on Monday in the autonomous Bougainville region, including eight who were killed in a landslide.

PNG's state-owned National Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday reported that a state of emergency has been declared for the entire Bougainville region amid widespread destruction of infrastructure, mass displacement of communities and an escalating humanitarian crisis caused by the cyclone.

Meanwhile, three people have been reported missing in the Solomon Islands.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said that Tropical Cyclone Maila was a Category 5 storm in the Solomon Sea on Tuesday.

The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation reported that three people have been reported missing following severe weather from the cyclone in Choiseul Province, which neighbours Western Province to the north.

The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force said that it has activated operations centres in Western and Choiseul provinces and urged all members of the public to take necessary precautions.

- IANS