The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides.
At about 3 am on 24 May 2024, a large landslide occurred at Kaokalam, in the Muritaka area of Enga province in Papua New Guinea. The exact location of this event is not yet clear. Muritaka (or Mulitaka) is at [-5.374, 143.374]. Reports indicate that the landslide has blocked the access route to the Porgera Gold Mine – this appears to be via a road running through this area.
Images and videos have been published on social media. The image in the BBC News tweet below has been widely circulated, apparently showing the source area of the failure:-
This tweet provides an alternative view of the source zone:-
Other images show the runout zone of the landslide, and the destruction it has caused:-
On first inspection, this is a large rock slope failure that has transitioned into a rock and debris avalanche. There has been no indications that there was a trigger event, such as intense rainfall or an earthquake. It will be interesting to see whether the slope had been subjected to mining or quarrying. Note the very steep, planar surface at the rear of the landslide scar, and also on the left side. This suggests to me that the landslide has mobilised existing planes of weakness in the rock mass.
The loss of life in the landslide at Kaokalam is speculation at this stage, but many reports indicate that 100 people or more may have been buried. The prospects for survival in such an energetic landslide are very low.
This area of Papua New Guinea is remote, so mobilising a response will prove to be difficult.