Saturday, March 14, 2015 12:25:16 AM
Tropical Cyclone Pam: Vanuatu devastated by one of the strongest tropical cyclones in Pacific; at least four dead in Port Vila
By Pacific affairs reporter Liam Fox, staff
Updated 15 minutes ago
Gallery: Cyclone Pam damage .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-13/cyclone-pam-damage/6314856
Photo: Buildings in Vanuatu have been severely damaged by Tropical Cyclone Pam. (350: Isso Nihmei)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-14/building-in-vanuatu-damaged-by-tropical-cyclone-pam/6319138
Related Story: Flooding, destructive winds as Cyclone Pam bears down on Vanuatu
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-13/flooding-destructive-winds-as-cyclone-pam-bears-down-on-vanuatu/6316590
Map: Vanuatu .. http://maps.google.com/?q=-16,167(Vanuatu)&z=5
At least four people have died in Vanuatu's capital of Port Vila, a witness says, in one of the strongest tropical cyclones to have hit the South Pacific.
It comes amid unconfirmed reports that more than 40 people may have perished elsewhere in Vanuatu as a result of Cyclone Pam.
One person has also died in Papua New Guinea's West New Britain province after a tree fell onto a house during strong winds driven by the storm.
Vanuatu coordinator of climate change not-for-profit organisation 350, Isso Nihmei, said he and others tried to rescue three people in Port Vila who later died in hospital.
"We heard some of the people who were living close. They were shouting and calling us. So once we went down there, we saw this guy who was already dead," he said.
"There [were] other people on the other side, so we went down to rescue them but they were really weak.
"We got them to hospital but they died in half an hour."
Mr Nihmei said they had injuries to their faces and bodies and were living close to the sea. He said they had chosen to stay because of their boats.
Power and communications are down across much of the country which has made it difficult for authorities to confirm damage and a death toll.
Humanitarian organisations have warned of "complete annihilation" in Port Vila, where the cyclone reportedly tore through at 340 kilometres per hour.
But some fear the devastation could be even worse in the outer islands.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there were no official reports of deaths or injuries, but there was an unconfirmed report that 44 people died in the central Penama province.
Pam was about 175 kilometres south of Tanna, in Vanuatu's southernmost province, at 1:00pm (AEDT), moving southwards at 32 kilometres per hour, according to Vanuatu's Meteorological Services.
[ YouTube of embedded video ]
Significant damage after Tropical Cyclone Pam in Port Vila. (Credit: YouTube/Isso Nihmei, 350 Vanuatu Coordinator)
Loss of communication preventing clear picture of destruction
Humanitarian organisations said they were on standby to help the Vanuatu government respond to the impacts of Cyclone Pam.
"Temporary dwellings which most Vanuatu people live in —
corrugated iron houses — ... have been completely annihilated."
Nichola Krey, Save the Children
Oxfam Australia said it had harrowing reports of the impact of Cyclone Pam from staff on the ground in Vanuatu.
Spokeswoman Helen Szoke said many of Vanuatu's islands were low-lying and were likely to have been swamped by waves, which local weather authorities had listed as "very rough to phenomenal".
Ms Szoke said communications had been lost and no-one knew yet how severely Vanuatu had been hit.
"It's going to be some days before we know the full extent to the damage that's been done," she said.
"There were reports last night of loss of life and they're yet to be confirmed and we're hoping that it's only damage to material goods."
Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia's High Commissioner in Vanuatu, Jeremy Bruer, had spoken to the country's prime minister to offer assistance.
"We are deeply concerned by reports that lives have been lost in northern Vanuatu," Ms Bishop told reporters.
"They are still unconfirmed but we are deeply concerned by those reports."
She said there had been no reports of Australian deaths but said there were more than 800 Australians registered in Vanuatu. She said that number, however, could exceed 3,000.
[ 2nd embedded video footage ]
Vanuatu houses 'hit by 340kph wind gusts'
Save the Children's Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Nichola Krey, said the storm was as severe as feared.
"It hit Port Vila at an incredible 340 kilometres an hour," she said.
"Some reports are saying it was at that speed, so you can imagine the flimsy housing in Vanuatu made of corrugated iron and very weak wood.
"You can imagine what 340 kilometres an hour wind does to that."
Ms Krey said communications were down across the country so it was difficult to know exactly what happened.
---
World's most disaster-prone city
Vanuatu's capital Port Vila is the world's most exposed city
to natural disasters, according to a global risk analysis study.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-10/port-vila-identified-worlds-most-exposed-city-natural-disasters/6295608
---
But she said she heard reports Cyclone Pam had caused complete and utter devastation in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila.
"Temporary dwellings which most Vanuatu people live in — corrugated iron houses — they have been completely annihilated, nothing left in terms of local housing," she said.
"Some of the larger structures in Port Vila, they've also gone as well."
CARE Vanuatu has confirmed Cyclone Pam has left Port Vila a scene of complete devastation, but says Vanuatu's outer islands could be worse.
Program manager Charlie Damon, speaking from Vanuatu, said she had also received unofficial reports of fatalities.
Ms Damon said most roads were blocked by fallen trees and it was still quite dangerous to go outside.
She said even evacuation centres were damaged.
"Some have been flooded and some evacuation centres have also lost parts of their roofs too, but those on the outer islands they certainly will be feeling the brunt of this as they just don't have the facilities as we do in Port Vila," she said.
Red alerts remain in place for some provinces
The Vanuatu Meteorological Services warned very destructive hurricane-force winds of 250 kilometres per hour continued to affect the country's southern provinces this morning.
Red alerts remained in place for Malampa, Shefa and Tafea provinces.
---
Cyclone Pam on social media
Pacific Islanders take to social media to share their experiences of #CyclonePam
http://www.australiaplus.com/international/2015-03-13/cyclone-pam-remote-communities-feel-force-of-category-five-cyclone/1424871
---
It said the central pressure of the system was estimated at 900 hectopascals, which is among the strongest tropical cyclones on record.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Simon Allen said severe tropical cyclones could be difficult to forecast.
"The track, I think, was always for some time likely to be close to Port Vila but it did move a bit closer than we expected in the end, so the eye of the cyclone ended up very close to the capital," he said.
"In a couple of days it's likely to move to the east of New Zealand, but despite that it will still have significant impact on the northern and eastern parts of the North Island of New Zealand in particular.
"So [we are] likely to see some heavy rain, damaging winds and possibly storm surges in those areas as well as we go into next week.
"But hopefully less force there."
Updates from Vanuatu's weather service can be found here .. http://meteo.gov.vu/TropicalCyclones/Warning/tabid/172/Default.aspx .
Australians concerned about friends or relatives in Vanuatu can contact DFAT's emergency number: 1300 555 135.
[ another embedded image ?? i don't know if it is possible to reproduce here, or not ?? ]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-14/tc-pam-leaves-trail-of-destruction-as-it-moves-south-of-vanuatu/6318652
By Pacific affairs reporter Liam Fox, staff
Updated 15 minutes ago
Gallery: Cyclone Pam damage .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-13/cyclone-pam-damage/6314856
Photo: Buildings in Vanuatu have been severely damaged by Tropical Cyclone Pam. (350: Isso Nihmei)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-14/building-in-vanuatu-damaged-by-tropical-cyclone-pam/6319138
Related Story: Flooding, destructive winds as Cyclone Pam bears down on Vanuatu
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-13/flooding-destructive-winds-as-cyclone-pam-bears-down-on-vanuatu/6316590
Map: Vanuatu .. http://maps.google.com/?q=-16,167(Vanuatu)&z=5
At least four people have died in Vanuatu's capital of Port Vila, a witness says, in one of the strongest tropical cyclones to have hit the South Pacific.
It comes amid unconfirmed reports that more than 40 people may have perished elsewhere in Vanuatu as a result of Cyclone Pam.
One person has also died in Papua New Guinea's West New Britain province after a tree fell onto a house during strong winds driven by the storm.
Vanuatu coordinator of climate change not-for-profit organisation 350, Isso Nihmei, said he and others tried to rescue three people in Port Vila who later died in hospital.
"We heard some of the people who were living close. They were shouting and calling us. So once we went down there, we saw this guy who was already dead," he said.
"There [were] other people on the other side, so we went down to rescue them but they were really weak.
"We got them to hospital but they died in half an hour."
Mr Nihmei said they had injuries to their faces and bodies and were living close to the sea. He said they had chosen to stay because of their boats.
Power and communications are down across much of the country which has made it difficult for authorities to confirm damage and a death toll.
Humanitarian organisations have warned of "complete annihilation" in Port Vila, where the cyclone reportedly tore through at 340 kilometres per hour.
But some fear the devastation could be even worse in the outer islands.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there were no official reports of deaths or injuries, but there was an unconfirmed report that 44 people died in the central Penama province.
Pam was about 175 kilometres south of Tanna, in Vanuatu's southernmost province, at 1:00pm (AEDT), moving southwards at 32 kilometres per hour, according to Vanuatu's Meteorological Services.
[ YouTube of embedded video ]
Significant damage after Tropical Cyclone Pam in Port Vila. (Credit: YouTube/Isso Nihmei, 350 Vanuatu Coordinator)
Loss of communication preventing clear picture of destruction
Humanitarian organisations said they were on standby to help the Vanuatu government respond to the impacts of Cyclone Pam.
"Temporary dwellings which most Vanuatu people live in —
corrugated iron houses — ... have been completely annihilated."
Nichola Krey, Save the Children
Oxfam Australia said it had harrowing reports of the impact of Cyclone Pam from staff on the ground in Vanuatu.
Spokeswoman Helen Szoke said many of Vanuatu's islands were low-lying and were likely to have been swamped by waves, which local weather authorities had listed as "very rough to phenomenal".
Ms Szoke said communications had been lost and no-one knew yet how severely Vanuatu had been hit.
"It's going to be some days before we know the full extent to the damage that's been done," she said.
"There were reports last night of loss of life and they're yet to be confirmed and we're hoping that it's only damage to material goods."
Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia's High Commissioner in Vanuatu, Jeremy Bruer, had spoken to the country's prime minister to offer assistance.
"We are deeply concerned by reports that lives have been lost in northern Vanuatu," Ms Bishop told reporters.
"They are still unconfirmed but we are deeply concerned by those reports."
She said there had been no reports of Australian deaths but said there were more than 800 Australians registered in Vanuatu. She said that number, however, could exceed 3,000.
[ 2nd embedded video footage ]
Vanuatu houses 'hit by 340kph wind gusts'
Save the Children's Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Nichola Krey, said the storm was as severe as feared.
"It hit Port Vila at an incredible 340 kilometres an hour," she said.
"Some reports are saying it was at that speed, so you can imagine the flimsy housing in Vanuatu made of corrugated iron and very weak wood.
"You can imagine what 340 kilometres an hour wind does to that."
Ms Krey said communications were down across the country so it was difficult to know exactly what happened.
---
World's most disaster-prone city
Vanuatu's capital Port Vila is the world's most exposed city
to natural disasters, according to a global risk analysis study.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-10/port-vila-identified-worlds-most-exposed-city-natural-disasters/6295608
---
But she said she heard reports Cyclone Pam had caused complete and utter devastation in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila.
"Temporary dwellings which most Vanuatu people live in — corrugated iron houses — they have been completely annihilated, nothing left in terms of local housing," she said.
"Some of the larger structures in Port Vila, they've also gone as well."
CARE Vanuatu has confirmed Cyclone Pam has left Port Vila a scene of complete devastation, but says Vanuatu's outer islands could be worse.
Program manager Charlie Damon, speaking from Vanuatu, said she had also received unofficial reports of fatalities.
Ms Damon said most roads were blocked by fallen trees and it was still quite dangerous to go outside.
She said even evacuation centres were damaged.
"Some have been flooded and some evacuation centres have also lost parts of their roofs too, but those on the outer islands they certainly will be feeling the brunt of this as they just don't have the facilities as we do in Port Vila," she said.
Red alerts remain in place for some provinces
The Vanuatu Meteorological Services warned very destructive hurricane-force winds of 250 kilometres per hour continued to affect the country's southern provinces this morning.
Red alerts remained in place for Malampa, Shefa and Tafea provinces.
---
Cyclone Pam on social media
Pacific Islanders take to social media to share their experiences of #CyclonePam
http://www.australiaplus.com/international/2015-03-13/cyclone-pam-remote-communities-feel-force-of-category-five-cyclone/1424871
---
It said the central pressure of the system was estimated at 900 hectopascals, which is among the strongest tropical cyclones on record.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Simon Allen said severe tropical cyclones could be difficult to forecast.
"The track, I think, was always for some time likely to be close to Port Vila but it did move a bit closer than we expected in the end, so the eye of the cyclone ended up very close to the capital," he said.
"In a couple of days it's likely to move to the east of New Zealand, but despite that it will still have significant impact on the northern and eastern parts of the North Island of New Zealand in particular.
"So [we are] likely to see some heavy rain, damaging winds and possibly storm surges in those areas as well as we go into next week.
"But hopefully less force there."
Updates from Vanuatu's weather service can be found here .. http://meteo.gov.vu/TropicalCyclones/Warning/tabid/172/Default.aspx .
Australians concerned about friends or relatives in Vanuatu can contact DFAT's emergency number: 1300 555 135.
[ another embedded image ?? i don't know if it is possible to reproduce here, or not ?? ]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-14/tc-pam-leaves-trail-of-destruction-as-it-moves-south-of-vanuatu/6318652
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