Disaster relief afoot in landslide-hit Papua New Guinea despite adverse conditions: UNDP official

Disaster relief is underway in Papua New Guinea despite adverse conditions after a devastating landslide hit the country on Friday, said an official of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Papua New Guinea has informed the United Nations that more than 2,000 people are feared to have been buried by the massive landslide.

Humanitarian organizations are working with local authorities to deliver the relief supplies.

Nicholas Booth, resident representative of the UNDP in Papua New Guinea, said the terrain in the landslide-hit area is unstable and access to the area has been blocked, posing big challenges.

"It's still a very dynamic situation. In fact, the terrain is still moving. So this has been a very substantial landslide. It hit at 3:00 am on Friday, but the terrain is still moving. It's quite a remote area anyway. So it's a good couple of hours drive, northwest of the provincial capital. There's a big highway that goes all the way through the province, but the landslide has blocked that highway, so it makes it very difficult to access. So that's the major challenge," he said in a recent interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN).

"The army, the police are working together with the local government and with the UN agencies and other international partners to get to the site. And we are at the site. And army engineers are at the site and they are bringing heavy earth moving machineries. It is a complicated situation. As you might know, there has been tribal conflict in that area, too. And some of that is still ongoing, unrelated to the landslide, but it means the defense escorts and this is necessary to help the convoys of aid to the site," he said.

He said the UNDP is working together with the local government and other international peers to carry out relief.

"First of all, I should say, UNDP we're not acting on our own. We are acting with the provincial government, with the support of the national disaster committee, with other UN agencies. So there's a number of different UN humanitarian agencies and other international partners on the ground, too. So, some initial assistance was given to those affected over the weekend. Some preliminary supplies were given to people affected on the ground over the weekend. Further supplies are on their way today. I don't know if they've reached there yet, but they set off this morning from the provincial capital," he said.

"I'm essentially focusing on food, water, shelter, and some other essential items, medicines as well to help with. There are health authorities on the ground to give medical assistance to survivors. So further assistance has been given to them today. An evacuation site was set up by the army over the weekend, so people are being evacuated to safety as well. So those are some of the main focuses of the effort right now," said Booth.

The landslide occurred in the mountainous Enga region in northern Papua New Guinea on Friday. Locals have been left reeling after tonnes of rock and mud smashed into their homes as they slept.

Disaster relief afoot in landslide-hit Papua New Guinea despite adverse conditions: UNDP official

Disaster relief afoot in landslide-hit Papua New Guinea despite adverse conditions: UNDP official

Disaster relief afoot in landslide-hit Papua New Guinea despite adverse conditions: UNDP official

China’s first intelligent field plant phenotype precision identification platform went into operation recently in Sanya City, south China’s Hainan Province, which is a milestone in the country’s development of intelligent breeding.

The phenotype of a plant is a term used to describe observable characteristics of the plant, such as its appearance, and some inherent physiological characteristics, such as resistance to drought and diseases.

In an experimental field of the National Nanfan Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a large piece of equipment is moving across the field. The equipment, called the field plant phenotype precision identification platform, can move according to the preset track and can be remotely controlled. While moving, the equipment can scan the plants with its six sensors, just like a CT machine for plants.

"The ultimate goal is to achieve high-throughput, large-scale, efficient and precise collection of germplasm resources, which can be four to five times higher than the efficiency of the traditional manual collection," said Jin Xiuliang, a researcher at the institute.

Although the equipment looks simple from the outside, it contains six high-precision image acquisition devices such as multi-spectral, thermal infrared, and chlorophyll fluorescence devices. Data can be collected at fixed times and points according to experimental needs, and the collection of a germplasm material can be completed within 30 seconds.

After the data collected through this platform is transmitted to the data analysis center, researchers can more quickly and accurately screen out germplasm resources with excellent traits, laying the foundation for subsequent crop breeding.

"The plant phenotype identification facility at the National Nanfan Research Institute is a milestone in the field of crop science in China. It can greatly enhance the independent innovation capabilities of germplasm innovation, gene mining, and variety breeding, and enhance the international competitiveness of China's seed industry," said Li Huihui, vice president of the institute.  

China makes major progress in smart crop breeding