Following Tropical Cyclone Pam, which struck Vanuatu's capital city Port Vila on the evening of 13 March, aid agencies are deploying emergency response teams to support relief efforts on the ground.
Tropical Cyclone Pam was classified as a category 5 cyclone when it struck the South Pacific. The cyclone's eye passed close to Efate Island, where the capital is located, and winds are estimated to have reached 250kmph with gusts peaking at around 320kmph. On Efate Island, an estimated 90 per cent of structures are either damaged or destroyed.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Joint Environment Unit, UNEP Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch and UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific stand ready to support the Government of Vanuatu.
Food supplies and drinking water in affected areas are running critically low.
Based on individual reports, access to water has emerged as the greatest need with estimates indicating that around 60 per cent of people in Shefa and Tafea provinces have no access to clean drinking water.
In Shefa Province, water access is affected by a lack of power to operate the piped water supplies. Reports indicate that groundwater sources have been contaminated and rainwater harvesting structures have been damaged.
Food supplies in affected areas, particularly in Erromango in Tafea Province, are running critically low. The Government of Vanuatu has formally submitted a request to the World Food Programme (WFP) for food aid.
Preparations have been completed for the development of a national estimate of the type and quantity of food required for each island based on initial damage and population estimates.
Community food distribution guidelines have been drafted and island maps of food distribution plans are currently being finalized.
