Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 10th March. UN office of the humanitarian coordinatos on Thursday have deployed to Vanuatu to help with the aid response, after tropical cyclones and a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific island nation.
According to the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office, over 250,000 people have been affected, which is 80 per cent of the country’s population.
According to OCHA, Cyclone Judy forced residents to evacuate from the capital Port Vila, they were hit by Cyclone Kevin, a category four storm that brought heavy rain and winds measured at over 230 kilometres an hour, or 142 miles per hour.
Vanuatu’s 13 islands were then hit by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck 90 kilometres from the second largest city, Luganville.
A state of emergency was declared on 3 March, OCHA stated.
OCHA reported homes, livelihoods and power lines have been damaged, but impact assessments have been hindered by connectivity problems linked to the emergency.
OCHA confirmed that UN’s intervention came at the request of the authorities in Vanuatu, said that 8 staff have deployed to Port Vila, to support the Government-led response.
Acting UN Resident Coordinator to Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu, Alpha Bah said that “This deployment follows an official letter from the Vanuatu Prime Minister, Hon. Alatoi Ishmael Kalsahau, welcoming support and assistance from the Pacific Humanitarian Team the regional coordination body of the international community, composed of humanitarian UN agencies, international NGOs and the Red Cross Movement”
He added that UN teams would continue to follow the lead set by Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office, and the Government, “to ensure our support is aligned to their recovery priorities.”
UN team reported that the hardest hit areas were Shefa and Tafea, Penama, and Malampa, Northern and Western Penama Province, and Sanma and Torba Provinces.
Comments are closed.