News Agency
\nPort Vila
\nA deadly cyclone destroyed much of Vanuatu\u2019s second-largest town but early warnings appeared to have prevented mass casualties in the Pacific nation, with some residents sheltered in caves to stay safe, aid workers said Tuesday.
\nTropical Cyclone Harold, which claimed 27 lives when it swept through the Solomon Islands last week, lashed Vanuatu\u2019s northern provinces overnight as a scale-topping category five superstorm.
\nThe town of Luganville, population 16,500, took a direct hit as winds of 235 kilometres per hour (145 miles per hour) brought down buildings and caused flash flooding.
\nWorld Vision\u2019s Vanuatu director Kendra Gates Derousseau said the charity\u2019s local manager told her the damage was comparable to the last category five monster to hit the country, Cyclone Pam in 2015.
\n\u201cI managed to speak to her on a satellite phone and she estimated about 50 percent of dwellings have been significantly damaged, the World Vision office has lost its roof,\u201d she told AFP.
\n\u201cShe mentioned that she has heard no reports of casualties or any significant injuries at this time,\u201d the Port Vila-based aid worker added.
\nCommunications remain down across much of the country and Gates Derousseau said the scale of the disaster would remain unclear until remote island communities, such as southern Pentecost, had been contacted.
\n\u201cThey were directly in the eye (of the cyclone) and they have very few concrete buildings, they shelter in traditional thatch dwellings or caves,\u201d she said.
\nRed Cross Vanuatu secretary general Jacqueline de Gaillande said the communications issues meant that the most recent updates she received were social media posts from the charity\u2019s local staffers on Monday evening.
\n\u201cThey showed a lot of damage but we have no numbers of casualties yet,\u201d she told AFP.
\n– COVID-19 complications –
\nA massive international aid effort was launched after Cyclone Pam in 2015 flattened Port Vila, killed 11 people and wiped out almost two-thirds of the country\u2019s economic capacity.
\nGates Derousseau said a similar operation was unlikely in Harold\u2019s wake because Vanuatu was determined to remain one of the world\u2019s few places with no confirmed COVID-19 cases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Agency Port Vila A deadly cyclone destroyed much of Vanuatu\u2019s second-largest town but early warnings appeared to have prevented mass casualties in the Pacific nation, with some residents sheltered in caves to stay safe, aid workers said Tuesday. Tropical Cyclone Harold, which claimed 27 lives when it swept through the Solomon Islands last week, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n