USAID Provides Emergency Assistance to Papua New Guinea

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have provided $50,000 in emergency assistance funding to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for the procurement and distribution of emergency relief supplies in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Guba.

From November 12-16, high winds and heavy rain from Tropical Cyclone Guba affected Oro and Milne Bay provinces in eastern Papua New Guinea. As of November 20, the cyclone and flooding had caused more than 70 deaths and displaced at least 13,000 people according to the IFRC. The Government of Papua New Guinea (GOPNG) reported that cyclone-associated flooding affected 145,000 people in Oro Province. Flooding also caused extensive damage to houses, roads, bridges, and crops. The floods severely damaged the water system, electrical infrastructure, and access roads in the Oro provincial capital of Popondetta, affecting an estimated 20,000 people. On November 19, the GOPNG declared a state of emergency in Oro Province.

USAID continues to monitor the situation in close consultation with the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby.

For more information about USAID's emergency humanitarian assistance programs, please visit: www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

Public Information: 202-712-4810