Two cyclones in three days ‘exhausting’

‘‘There is going to be a significant need (for aid).’’

Dan McGarry, journalist

Ni-Vanuatu residents have emerged battered but still standing after Cyclone Kevin swiped the country with a strong backhand.

‘‘It was quite exhausting. Dealing with two cyclones in three days is pretty draining,’’ Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry told RNZ.

He said the gale-force winds had been rough. He woke early yesterday to try to get a sense of the extent of the damage.

‘‘Our own laneway is blocked off. We’ve got tree limbs all the way up and down,’’ he said.

The capital, Port Vila, had been badly knocked about, McGarry said. He had come across a mango tree that had landed on top of a minibus. ‘‘And then the wind lifted the entire tree and dumped it a metre and a half away.’’

Tafea province was still under red alert yesterday. Parts of Vanuatu have plunged into a sixmonth-long state of emergency.

Vanuatu now needs support from its international partners.

‘‘There is going to be a significant need – this is not something Vanuatu can do alone,’’ McGarry said. ‘‘Australia has already committed to sending a rapid assessment team.’’

Stephen Meke, tropical cyclone forecaster with the Fiji Meteorological Service, said response teams and aid workers should plan to travel to Vanuatu from today onwards, as the weather system was forecast to lose momentum then.

A Unicef spokesperson said its team was preparing to ship essential emergency supplies from Fiji, in addition to emergency supplies already in Vanuatu. ‘‘These include tents, tarpaulins, education and health supplies.’’