Tropical Cyclone Maila: Children among dead as aid struggles to reach cut-off communities

Four children are among at least 11 people killed after Tropical Cyclone Maila tore through parts of Papua New Guinea (PNG) with aid agencies warning the crisis is far from over.

Cyclone Maila also left a trail of destruction across parts of the Solomon Islands.

While it has now weakened to a tropical low, it is still bringing heavy rain across the region and posing a flooding risk for northern Queensland in Australia.

Speaking to Pacific Mornings, Lisa Piper of Save the Children in PNG said the loss of young lives shows just how hard communities have been hit.

“The fact that four children are among the 11 lives lost so far that we know that have been confirmed from the cyclone, it underscores really just how devastating this disaster has been for families and communities,” she said.

While the worst of the winds and heavy rain appear to have passed, Piper said the aftermath is severe with flooding, landslides, and damaged infrastructure cutting off entire communities.

“Relief teams are struggling to reach these communities, particularly remote communities… Roads have been washed out and or they’ve been blocked by landslides,” she said.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said authorities are still working to reach affected areas with the situation continuing to unfold.

“Reports are still coming in and are scattered but we will make sure we reach every place, every island, and every community that has been affected,” he said in a statement.

Pictured left: Thirty-two schools in three provinces have been affected in the Solomon Islands with Choiseul and Western Province among the worst hit. At right is Central Bougainville Disaster Response Team evacuates the injured from Kongara landslide in Bougainville, PNG. Photo/Facebook/Tavuli News/NBC Bougainville - Maus Blong Sankamap/Ben Kinah

In some areas, air access is now the only way to deliver help.

On the ground, the needs are urgent. Piper said food supplies have been wiped out, homes damaged, and access to healthcare disrupted.

“We are seeing for sure because food sources have been washed away, food security is an absolute need… Supply chain has been destroyed,” she said.

In Bougainville (PNG's autonomous region) alone, about 20,000 people are believed to be affected with a state of emergency declared.

The impact is also being felt across Solomon Islands where communities are dealing with damage and struggling to access aid in remote areas.

Local resident Lohial Nuau described the devastation after delivering supplies to one village where a landslide killed eight members of the same family.

Watch Lisa Piper's full interview below.

“They had run out of food, basic food items like tinned fish and sugar,” he told the ABC.

Across the affected areas, homes, food gardens, and basic supplies have been lost, leaving many families with little to fall back on.

The cyclone has now weakened to a tropical low but its impact is still being felt across the region including further rain forecast for parts of northern Queensland.

For many communities, the focus is now on recovery and reaching those still cut off.

As Piper said, “There is absolutely a sense of urgency in these communities.”