OCHA Media Release
Statement by the
Humanitarian Coordinator for Vanuatu,
Osnat Lubrani
(Port
Vila, 21 March 2015) It is one week since Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu,
bringing widespread devastation to the island nation and leaving some
65,000 people homeless. Aerial surveys from the outer islands confirm
widespread destruction of homes, buildings and crops. Seventeen people
have lost their lives.
The Government is leading the relief effort, under the supervision of the
Prime Minister’s office. The national disaster authorities have
undertaken a number of assessments of the hardest hit areas in Malampa,
Penama, Shefa, Sanma and Tafea provinces, and we know that people need
food, clean drinking water, medical supplies, shelter, hygiene kits and
seeds.
I visited the Dumbea evacuation centre in Port Vila and saw for myself
the impact on families. It is testimony to the serious work undertaken by
the Government on disaster risk reduction and preparedness that all the
families reached the centre before the cyclone hit, saving lives, as
their entire settlement was destroyed. The head of one family told me
that his heart is heavy: “We are not used to living in the city, all we
want is to go back home and rebuild, but we have nothing left and we
cannot do that without support.”
I have been briefed by a UN assessment team that returned today from the
islands of Ngona, Pele and Emau, three of the most remote northern
islands. Water is a serious problem, with the contamination of water
sources a grave health threat, particularly to children. Food stocks are
limited as vegetable gardens have been wiped out - a concern for food
security and as a source of livelihoods. Several of the health centres
and schools have been severely damaged.
Despite the devastation, it is clear that preparedness measures taken by
the Government, including the use of traditional building materials,
community sensitization and well-drilled early warning systems helped
reduce the impact of this disaster.
The Government has welcomed the support of the humanitarian community. UN
agencies and NGOs are coordinating closely with the authorities. The
United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team has been
providing technical assistance for assessments. All the clusters are
operational and working well under the leadership of the respective
Government line ministries, to provide food aid, shelter, water and
sanitation, health, protection, education and recovery support to some
166,000 people affected by this disaster.
This is a very challenging logistical operation. Communication within and
between the islands is a major challenge, while access to affected areas
remains restricted because debris and fallen trees are blocking roads. It
is also going to be very expensive due to the costs of getting to remote
islands and the damage caused to transport infrastructure.
I thank all the partners for their generous support to the people of
Vanuatu. Several countries have provided critical relief supplies,
personnel, funding and logistics for the aid operation. We will issue a
consolidated aid appeal early next week, once the assessments have been
fully analyzed.
As we scale up the aid effort, and as basic services are being
rehabilitated and people get back to work, we must ensure that no second
emergency develops in Vanuatu from food and water shortages or disease
outbreaks.
We must support the people and Government of Vanuatu as they continue to
help the most vulnerable communities and start to recover and rebuild.
The United Nations and our partners are ready to continue to help in this
effort.
For further information, please contact:
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