Drought

Yesterday marked 14 weeks since we first arrived in Papua New Guinea and we've only had one day with a small amount of rain. The hills surrounding Port Moresby have all turned brown and look nothing like the lush tropical island we first saw in July. Everyone across the island is struggling with the lack of rain. Crops are failing and water sources are drying up. When the water dries up for one village or tribe, they can't move to a different area with water because another group already has territorial rights to that area. Their only option is to move into the cities, so Port Moresby is getting busier everyday. The resources in the city are being put to the test as well and now we are under water restrictions. This is all due to the El Nino effect we are experiencing this year. Lori found a really good article that explains it better than I can.

http://www.looppng.com/content/el-ni%C3%B1o-could-leave-4-million-people-pacific-without-food-or-drinking-water

There's been plenty of typhoons in the area, but they all pass north of us and the systems seem to suck all the moisture out of the air and no rain falls here. The true rainy season isn't until January and February, but everyone I've spoken too says we should've been getting regular rains by September and the wind should've died down as well. They all say this is an unusual year. I hope so.

db