Red Cross Prepares for Cyclone Pam

Red Cross Prepares for Cyclone Pam

As Tropical Cyclone Pam, Tropical Storm Bavi and Cyclone Nathan make their way across the Pacific, Red Cross is working with communities and local authorities to prepare for what could become an unprecedented relief response.

“Cyclone Pam on its own has the capacity to do immense damage, but now with Bavi and Nathan, we could be looking at one of the biggest Pacific responses in recent memory,” says Aurelia Balpe, head of delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Pacific.

So far, thousands of people in more than nine countries have been affected or are threatened by the storms.

Tropical Cyclone Pam is predicted to affect more than 103,000 people in Vanuatu alone.

In Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, Red Cross emergency response teams have been activated and relief supplies are in place.

Assessments are also being carried out in Tuvalu and Kiribati, where associated sea swells have caused significant damage to crops and gardens.

The situations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Papua New Guinea are being monitored closely with the authorities.

New Zealand Red Cross has committed $10,000 to the response and is preparing emergency relief supplies to send to Vanuatu.

ENDS

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