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ABC News
ABC News
National
By Bethanie Harriman in Port Moresby

150 homeless after fire tears through Port Moresby village

Most homes in Hanuabada Village were built on wooden stilts over the shoreline.

At least 150 villagers in Papua New Guinea have been left homeless after a fire tore through 15 homes in Hanuabada Village, just five minutes from downtown Port Moresby.

No deaths have been reported as a result of the fire.

Families in Hanuabada Village, who belong to Port Moresby's traditional landowner group, are now living under makeshift shelters.

Most homes in the village are clustered close together on wooden stilts over the shoreline.

As one house often shelters three families, villagers say the blaze has displaced many people.

Local school teacher Seri Rea said her family had to leave everything behind when they fled the fire.

"I was caught by surprise and these are [my] only clothes," she said.

Another victim, Ako Nou, lost his home and is now contacting relatives for financial support.

"We will stand together and face it, we will stand together and solve this problem like one big happy family," he said.

"We could not save anything, we just ran out of our houses."

The customary landowners living in Hanuabada Village come from the Motu and Koitabu tribal groups.

They live in cramped and squalid conditions in the village as their traditional lands in Port Moresby have been used to develop the capital.

The issue of their land rights is the topic of ongoing debate in Port Moresby.

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