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Rapid Needs Assessment Report on Kadovar Island Volcanic Eruption (11 January 2018)

Countries
PNG
Sources
Govt. PNG
+ 2 more
Publication date

Summary

On Friday, 5th of January 2018, the volcano on Kadovar Island began to erupt following earthquakes which occurred the previous day. This forced the islanders to flee for their lives to a neighboring island called Ruprup. The displaced islanders, a total of 691men, women & children (figure according to the local village recorder) are now crowded on Ruprup island & are dependent on the locals there for basic survival needs. Out of 691, 31 are children between the ages of 0-5 years, 76 are children between 6- 16years. 4 pregnant and lactating women were identified. From Save the Children and Oxfam baseline data from 2016 El Nino response, we know that there are approximately 30 people from Kadovar living with disabilities.

Even though the Ruprup Islanders are accommodating and helping to meet the needs of the displaced islanders, their urgent needs include shelter, clothing, food, water, sanitation, hygiene and medical assistance. Currently, there are military personnel on Ruprup Island monitoring the situation. The East Sepik Provincial Administration have dispatched 20 bales of second hand clothing and food rations to those affected but these (especially clothing) were not enough. It is very likely that the longer those displaced islanders live on Ruprup, there will be increasing food & water shortage, illnesses due to poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions caused by overcrowding and pre-existing protection issues will be made worse as people begin to adopt negative coping mechanisms to sustain livelihoods.