The New Zealand government has announced a further $3 million support package for Papua New Guinea following the earthquake that struck the Pacific Island on February 26.

“The full extent of this disaster is only becoming clear now nearly three weeks later,” Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “There has been extensive damage to water and food sources, transport infrastructure and significant loss of life.”

The Minister said New Zealand has been working with the Government of Papua New Guinea, Australia and other donors to provide humanitarian relief, transporting relief supplies from New Zealand to Papua New Guinea and from Port Moresby into the Highlands.

The funding will be used to meet ongoing needs on the ground and includes up to $1.5 million for New Zealand NGOs with local partners to deliver ongoing emergency relief and early recovery activities in the Highlands.

“The Highlands region of Papua New Guinea is a challenging environment and the response and subsequent recovery will take time. This additional support reflects this,” he said.

The package is in addition to an initial amount of $500,000 and the deployment of a New Zealand Defence Force C-130 Hercules carrying emergency supplies.