Vanimo - The twin spectres of hunger and disease threatened yesterday to wipe out survivors of the tidal wave disaster as they began to rebuild their shattered lives amid the chaos.
Five days after a 10-metre wall of water obliterated the northern coast of Papua New Guinea's West Sepik province, hospitals were overflowing with survivors of the tragedy.
A total of 1,500 bodies have been recovered so far but local officials estimate the overall death toll at between 6,000 and 8,000 - many of them children too small to fight the waves that wiped whole villages off the map.