Samantha Montano
News articles on Hurricane Pam. Category 4-5. March 2015.
Widespread casualties are feared after a powerful cyclone battered Vanuatu overnight, triggering flash floods and knocking out telephone lines in the isolated Pacific island nation, aid officials have said. At least one person has been confirmed dead in Papua New Guinea, one of several other Pacific island nations also affected by the destructive storm, named Pam, which hit the region on Friday.
The Category 5 cyclone was already ravaging the Vanuatu island chain, particularly along the coastlines, which are vulnerable to tidal surges. UNICEF in Vanuatu - located between Fiji and Australia - had already said it received unconfirmed reports of deaths in the outer islands, but authorities were having a hard time communicating due to downed cellular networks and widespread power outages.
A red alert has been issued for northern parts of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu as Cyclone Pam, a category five tropical storm, nears. Pam is already bringing winds of up to 185 km/h (115mph), said the Vanuatu Meteorological Services (VMS).
Vanuatu - a string of more than 80 islands once known as the New Hebrides - achieved independence from France and Britain in 1980. Most of the islands are inhabited; some have active volcanoes. Vanuatu is mountainous and much of it is covered with tropical rainforests.
Tropical Cyclone Pam, one of the strongest storms seen in the South Pacific in years, is churning toward Vanuatu and triggering storm warnings in other island nations. The Category 5 storm is whipping up winds of 160 miles per hour (260 kph), triggering concerns of torrential rainfall, flooding and landslides.
Cyclone Pam was due to hit the island's capital, Port Vila, at around 11pm Friday (12 noon GMT). The anticipated category five storm, with predicted wind gusts of more than 280km/h, prompted evacuations across the country as aid agencies warned of torrential rain, landslides and flash flooding.
But Vanuatu's meteorology service said residents should still brace for winds of 102mph along with flash flooding, landslides and "very rough to phenomenal seas". Alice Clements, Unicef spokesman, said Port Vila resembled a "ghost town" as people battened down. "Tonight is really the night we're going to find out," the official with the UN children's agency told AFP.
Updated March 13, 2015 20:10:56 Authorities in Vanuatu are warning of heavy rain and flash flooding, particularly in low-lying areas, as Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam heads toward the capital after intensifying to category five. The cyclone is moving slowly on a southerly track towards the Pacific nation, with winds of up to 230 kilometres per hour.
In support of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), the Vanuatu Humanitarian Team (VHT) was established in late 2011 as a collaboration between Vanuatu based NGOs, the Red Cross, UN and government agencies. Coordinated by Oxfam with OCHA ROP support, it is focused on improving the coordination of humanitarian preparedness and response in support of government agencies in disasters.
A huge tropical cyclone with winds up to 270km/h (170mph) has devastated parts of the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Cyclone Pam is being described as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the region with unconfirmed reports that 44 people have been killed.
"IT was riveting, extremely frightening and emotional. We didn't know if the shelter we had would stay in place. Buildings were vibrating. Roofs were being ripped off. The noise was spectacular, the rumbling, the growling, it was like nothing I have ever heard."
Reuters, 15/03 00:32 CET SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rescue workers began a massive relief operation in Vanuatu on Sunday following a devastating cyclone that killed at least six people, sent thousands into emergency shelters and disrupted communications in the Pacific island nation. A nine-member U.N.
The ABC, through radio, television and online, is highlighting the work of Australian and international aid agencies as they attempt to provide shelter, food, education, healthcare and other forms of relief.
Tropical Cyclone Pam has killed at least eight people around the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila, with concerns growing about those on the outer islands. Chloe Morrison, spokesperson for aid agency World Vision in Vanuatu, said eight people had been confirmed dead by the National Disaster Management Office.
Australia and New Zealand pledge $6.5m in aid to Vanuatu, which has been battered by an enormous tropical cyclone.
Cyclone Pam, possibly the worst cyclone in the Pacific's history, slammed directly into the tiny South Pacific archipelago Vanuatu early Saturday, killing at least eight people and leaving thousands homeless, according to reports from aid organizations. At one point, wind speeds reached 168 mph, the Associated Press reported, making Pam a Category 5 storm.
It is not easy for a lumbering, powerful tropical cyclone to score a direct hit on a tiny island nation like Vanuatu. The country, made up of 83 separate islands, is strung from northwest to southeast about 1,000 miles east of Australia. Most cyclones blow past it, or hit in a weaker state.
As news from the cyclone-stricken island nation of Vanuatu began to trickle in on Sunday, the devastation left in the wake of Cyclone Pam-one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall-started to become clear.
A state of emergency has been declared in Tuvalu after tidal surges caused by Cyclone Pam to the southwest washed away houses and crops.
Torrential rains and winds up to 185 miles per hour lashed the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Saturday, downing power lines and flattening buildings throughout the country. The official death toll of the storm, called Tropical Cyclone Pam, is eight, but the final figure is likely to be considerably higher: Rescuers have been unable to communicate with residents living in the archipelago's outlying islands.
Cyclone Pam has left thousands of people homeless on Vanuatu, with aid agencies comparing the strength of the winds to those of Typhoon Haiyan which devastated parts of the Philippines in November 2013. At least eight people are reported to have been killed. However, it is feared the toll will rise sharply as rescuers reach outlying islands.
The Vanuatu government says it will do everything it can to make it easier for people to rebuild their homes. The nation's capital, Port Vila, was devastated by Cyclone Pam, with at least 80 percent of buildings damaged or destroyed when the category five storm hit late on Friday.
Vanuatu's shocked president has described the cyclone that hammered the tiny South Pacific archipelago as a "monster" and says climate change is partly to blame for the devastation. Aid agencies say conditions in cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu are among the most challenging they have ever faced with fears of disease rife.
Posted March 10, 2015 18:14:49 A global risk analysis study has found Vanuatu's capital Port Vila is the world's most exposed city to natural disasters. The Natural Hazards Risk Atlas, published by the British analytics company Verisk Maplecroft, identified the threat posed to more than 1,300 cities.
