Kaiapit landslide

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On 6 September 1988, at 10:43am local time, a large part of an unnamed mountain of the Saruwaged Range in the Kaiapit district of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, collapsed, throwing 1,300 [1] -1,800 [2] millions of cubic meters of rock onto the valley below. This resulted in the village of Marafau being entirely covered by the landslide, as well as the partial covering of the villages of Mitzing and Zumera, killing 74 people in the process. [1] [3] [2]

After the landslide

The three villages, now grouped together, form the 13th ward of the Umi-Atzero Rural LLG in the Markham District and house the internally displaced inhabitants of the former villages. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 Drechsler, Mark; Rooke, Eric; Ripper, Ian; Warren, Ted (1989). "The Kaiapit Landslide, Papua New Guinea". Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Geology in Tropical Terrains. doi:10.13140/2.1.2306.5605.
  2. 1 2 Greenbaum, D.; et al. "RAPID METHODS OF LANDSLIDE HAZARD MAPPING: PAPUA NEW GUINEA CASE STUDY" (PDF). British Geological Survey. Technical Report WC/95/27.
  3. "The long road to progress – The National". www.thenational.com.pg. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  4. "Safe drinking water for Markham". Loop PNG. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2024.