- FILE PHOTO 3NOV97 - A villager paddles his canoe past a wharf where container ships usually dock on the Fly River near the township of Kiunga in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The river, the largest in the country, was unable to accommodate the ships due to the unusually low water levels resulting from the severe drought gripping the nation. Government officials said on Wednesday that 70 people were confirmed dead in the worst drought in 50 years and that recent rain had offered only slight relief. Most of the dead fell victim to water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery.