On March 15, Vanuatu declared a state of emergency. President Lonsdale called for international support, and IsraAID responded immediately to the request, dispatching an emergency relief team to the area.
On Friday, March 13, 2015, Tropical Cyclone Pam lashed down on Vanuatu with category 5 conditions. On March 15, Vanuatu declared a state of emergency. President Baldwin Lonsdale called for international support while at a conference in Japan with UN agencies and IsraAID, stating, “I appeal on behalf of the government and people of Vanuatu to the global community to give a lending hand in responding to these very current calamities that have struck us.”
IsraAID responded immediately to the request, and dispatched an emergency relief team to the area. In addition to traveling to Eratap to meet the chief and assess the situation, the team also spent time in the capital city of Port Vila to coordinate efforts with government officials and UN agencies. In a small makeshift shelter in the devastated village of Eratap, Mac and Katie recount how they and their two children Kancy and little Clara managed to survive the storm. “The cyclone howled so strongly, our children were terrified,” Mac recalls. The family was hoping to last out the storm in their home, but Cyclone Pam, with its 320 kph winds was just too much. With the roof caving in, the family somehow managed to escape to the local church before the Cyclone flattened their home.
The most urgent needs outside of the capital remain drinking water and food, and with access to remote islands hampering relief efforts, the situation is becoming a race against the clock to save the lives of thousands dying of starvation and thirst.
In the remote island of Tongoa in the Shepherds islands group, the situation is beyond desperate, explained the island’s representative to Parliament, Mr. BM John Amos, as he appealed to Yotam Politzer, IsraAID‘s head of mission, for support: “We have no supplies, no food, no clean water. Last night three children died. Please help us.”
The team wasted no time. A list was quickly put together, kits assembled, and then moved to the harbor for loading. “There are so many islands here, it’s a logistical nightmare,” explained Yotam as he moved boxes of water and rice onto the boat. “The best thing we can do right now is respond to each appeal as it comes and try and reach as many people as possible. Time is against us but we will do whatever we can to help.”
On Sunday (March 22), before dawn, the team will depart for Tongoa and hope they can avoid more deaths there. During the coming week, more IsraAID professionals will arrive, as the organization continues to support local communities during this emergency.
Devastation on the island of Tongoa, Vanuatu
As the IsraAID team walked up the path, the chief of this small village on the remote island of Tongoa broke down in tears, explaining “it’s been ten days since the disaster, and these are the first supplies we have received.” In this village of 42 households devoid of a road access, only four structures remain standing, and starving locals lined up in the sun with excitement as the IsraAID team, together with the Tongoa parliament representative MP Mr. John Amos and a team of local volunteers, distributed over 40 tons of rice, flour and drinking water.