After severe Tropical Cyclone Maila caused widespread damage and disruption, Mission Aviation Fellowship is receiving requests for multiple medical evacuations in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
Story by Aquila Matit.
“My brother was hit by a fallen tree up in the mountains of Panguna,” said Jonitha Michael, explaining how her brother was injured during the cyclone’s high winds.
“He was half-conscious, and we brought him to the Arawa General Hospital. The disaster team then helped us get on the MAF plane, and now we are travelling to Buka.”
Jonitha’s brother was able to board the aeroplane with the Autonomous Bougainville Government’s disaster response team. Medical staff decided that the elderly patient should be sent first due to his critical condition.
“This cyclone was huge,” Jonitha added. “In times like these, we must rely on God.”
The disaster team flew with MAF into Arawa, on the eastern coast of the island. En route, they were able to conduct an aerial inspection of the damage to the bridges in the area, including the Ramazon Bridge.
On arrival in Arawa, they met with the local disaster team to discuss how to deal with the emergency, and immediately heard of needs regarding urgent medical evacuations.
Tracey Tsiroats, the medical officer at nearby Kieta General Hospital, wanted her patients to undergo further medical checks in Buka.
“I have treated them, but I need these patients to have their checks in Buka so they can be assisted quickly and so I can work on other patients too,” Tracey said.
Kearnneth Nanei, the Autonomous Bougainville State of Emergency Controller, was flown with the team to learn how these communities have been affected.
“Most of our communities in the western corridor have moved inland,” Kearneth said. “It is a very devastating cyclone that has caused deaths an widespread destruction.”
The following day, eight-year-old Louisiana Mangkkani was also evacuated by MAF. She was accompanied by her grandmother, Augusta Baru. They flew from Arawa to Buka and were driven immediately to Buka General Hospital.
“Louisiana fell due to the continuous rains and strong winds, which caused flooding and left the lands wet. She broke her arm,” said Augusta.
MAF pilot Glenys Watson sees a greater need for medical evacuations.
“Out of roughly 19 flights in the first week of operations, we did about five medevacs,” she said. “This is a significant number within just one week. I am certain there will still be more medevacs and that we will continue to perform these life-saving operations during this time of disaster. We can expect more in the second week of this emergency relief operations.”
Three medevac flights were flown for patients from Nissan Island, a remote atoll in the region’s north. Since Nissan is the main centre for the archipelago, patients from surrounding atolls are being brought to Nissan health centre and more medevac requests are expected.