Red Cross Responding to State of Emergency in Vanuatu

NEWS RELEASE

15 March 2015

Red Cross Responding to State of Emergency in Vanuatu

A state of emergency has been declared in Vanuatu after Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam, one of the most devastating cyclones to ever hit the Pacific, reached category five early on Friday morning.

Tropical Cyclone Pam, which had average wind speeds of up to 270 kilometres per hour and gusts up to 340 kilometres per hour, has been described as the strongest storm to make landfall since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in November 2013.

New Zealand Red Cross spokesperson Andrew McKie says while Red Cross is still trying to establish the full extent of the damage caused by the cyclone they know the humanitarian needs are going to be huge.

“We have been shocked at the size of Cyclone Pam. The priority for people affected in Vanuatu is expected to be shelter, food, water, and first aid.

“The scale of damage in Port Vila is reported as significant. Water sources have been damaged and power and phone lines are down. Mobile communications have been intermittent. Homes, both informal and semi-permanent homes have been damaged or destroyed,” Mr McKie says.

The hospital in Port Vila has been badly damaged and medical stocks have been compromised. It is expected that there will also be large damage to schools in Vanuatu. Shelter is the top priority at this time.

While Vanuatu has been hit the hardest, thousands of people in more than nine countries across the Pacific have been affected or are threatened by the weather systems. @NZRedCross facebook.com/newzealandredcross

In Solomon Islands and Fiji, Red Cross emergency response teams have been activated and initial relief supplies are in place. Assessments are also being carried out in Tuvalu and Kiribati, where associated sea swells have caused significant damage.

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

In Vanuatu, local Red Cross staff and volunteers are already on the ground helping across the country. There are a total of 28 evacuation centres in Port Vila where Vanuatu Red Cross is assisting authorities with distributions and registrations and carrying out assessments in affected areas.

New Zealand Red Cross has sent funds, 1,200 tarpaulins, 900 water containers and 240 first aid kits to Vanuatu, along with a Red Cross aid worker specialising in providing emergency shelter. The relief supplies have been distributed by Vanuatu Red Cross.

Another shipment of tarpaulins, water containers and first aid kits will be sent to Vanuatu tomorrow from the Red Cross warehouse in Auckland.

New Zealand Red Cross communications manager, Hanna Butler, will be in Vanuatu from tomorrow, along with disaster management delegate, Douglas Clark. Follow Ms Butler’s updates on Twitter @hannarosebutler.

New Zealand Red Cross has been meeting with Vanuatu communities in Wellington to look at how we can best work together. There was also a collection for the New Zealand Red Cross Pacific Disaster fund at Pasifika during the weekend.

Donations to the Pacific Disaster fund can be made at: www.redcross.org.nz/donate

ENDS

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