Monster Category 5 Cyclone Makes Direct Hit on Vanuatu

Kind of surprised I didn't see this posted anywhere on ATS yet (apologies if I've missed it).

Tropical Cyclone Pam has been under intense watch lately as several models have forecast it to become one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded. It was initially hoped that the storm would stay out over the open ocean, but unfortunately it took a bad turn into quite a nightmare scenario. The cyclone made a direct hit as a Category 5 on the extremely vulnerable island nation of Vanuatu today.



Details are still really sparse, as the storm is ongoing and power and communications are mostly down, but the bits of information trickling in are not encouraging.

Another report from Port Vila: “Just got a text from a friend an hour ago in Malapoa, his roof has gone is being flooded and is burying himself in the mud under the foundations to try and stay put. We have a house in Vila and are assuming it will be gone by morning. Please pray for them. This is unbelievable — all other comms are out.”

Tro pical Cyclone Pam thrashes Vanuatu with direct hit as a Category 5

We'll have to stay tuned until more details come in, but as the FB post above asks please "Think a good thought" in the meantime.

By the looks of it, that Nation is going to be wiped out of existence.

Hope it doesn't turn out that way but at the very least I'd venture to say they are going back to the stone age for the foreseeable future.

As Mother Nature giggles...

Jude11

Geez...that is a monster making landfall. Vanuatu may be in a really bad place for a while.

The sad part is they have no where to evacuate too.

I feel terrible for those folks.

a reply to: mc_squared

That's so incredibly sad.

It seems we've reached a scenario where it's just not safe to live on an island tragically this is happening at a time of great xenophobia too. Where will islanders go?

This is absolutely horrible. There is only one thing that we (or anyone else) can do....

Those that are more fortunate are going to need to help those people that are now going to be less fortunate than yesterday or last week.

I know there are charities like the Red Cross, but we're looking at an entire chain of islands and their inhabitants, families and friends, that are going to have their world turned inside out for quite some time. They are going to need help, the kind that doesn't get half of it sucked away into tax shelters and bureaucracy, or spread out between 100 other needy countries.

It would be a great idea if someone would start a crowd-funded charity with direct contributions of what they will need most, not just a bunch of random charity items that someone dumps on them. Food, clothing, toys for children, blankets, medicine... these are things that every day folks can find laying around, buy and send over.

Having been through 5 major hurricanes in my lifetime, I can tell you that the kind of devastation we could be looking at, with a direct hit of a category 5 storm, will be akin to what you saw from hurricane Andrew in the 90s - near complete annihilation of any standing structures.

God help everyone on those islands. If you can't donate something for those people, at least think positive thoughts or send prayer their way.

~Namaste

originally posted by: SgtHamsandwich
The sad part is they have no where to evacuate too.

I feel terrible for those folks.

You said it. The already terrible reports we're getting are from people who have access to things like cell phones and facebook, but the nation overall is still predominantly rural and poor, with nowhere to go:

It's an archipelago comprised of 84 volcanic islands, each separated by many miles of shark-filled seas and unpredictable weather. Travel between islands is difficult and expensive, and as a result, to many of Vanuatu's 200,000 citizens "international travel" means going to a nearby island every few years to visit cousins.

Strange Geographies: Village Life in Vanuatu

Many of the 250,000 people there live in places like this -






This is definitely not looking good.

a reply to: Kali74

Hopefully at least some genuine compassion and empathy emerges out of this, in light of all the "well it's not in my backyard, so who cares" attitudes these days.

a reply to: Kali74

Great xenophobia in the USA. Canada would most likely accept these folk with open arms.

a reply to: SpongeBeard

I hope so.

A bit more information is starting to come in, including the first images and video of the aftermath:







Trees sideways, flimsy tin roofs everywhere - and this is from the capital that had the best infrastructure to withstand this thing. Really dreading what the rural areas might look like.

Catastrophic damage feared in tiny Vanuatu after Category 5 Cyclone Pam

Mass casualties feared after cyclone hits Vanuatu

'Completely off the scale': Oxfam aid worker describes horror of Cyclone Pam as dozens feared dead

Wow, this is scary as all hell...

It's not only Cyclone Pam, there's now also Tropical Storm Bavi and Cyclone Nathan tearing through the surrounding Pacific areas.

"Cyclone Pam on its own has the capacity to do immense damage, but now with Bavi and Nathan, we could be looking at one of the biggest Pacific responses in recent memory,” says Aurelia Balpe, head of delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Pacific.

So far, thousands of people in more than nine countries have been affected or are threatened by the storms. In Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, Red Cross emergency response teams have been activated and relief supplies are in place.

Assessments are also being carried out in Tuvalu and Kiribati, where associated sea swells have caused significant damage. The situations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Papua New Guinea are being monitored closely with the authorities.

ifrc.org


Red Cross, UNICEF, CARE, and several other emergency disaster relief organizations are set up, but I'm having a helluva time trying to find any kind of actual disaster relief contact for this specific situation. I guess it's too soon yet for them to have organized any kind of worldwide relief setup yet since the storms are still ripping through the areas.

For anyone interested in sending donations contact your local Red Cross or Unicef organization.

There's also the Vanuatu-Australian Red Cross Society that has an online donation page. That page also makes mention, in a disaster relief situation, they would prefer people not send item donations (clothes, food, blankets, etc), but rather just cash donations.

However, that may change over time once these storms have passed and they get a better grasp on the situation at hand.

So far, there is 44 unconfirmed dead, but any updated recent news seems to be barely trickling in thus far.

originally posted by: CranialSponge
For anyone interested in sending donations contact your local Red Cross or Unicef organization.

There's also the Vanuatu-Australian Red Cross Society that has an online donation page. That page also makes mention, in a disaster relief situation, they would prefer people not send item donations (clothes, food, blankets, etc), but rather just cash donations.

Thanks for the link.

Giving this thread a bump because I think the situation needs much more attention. Details are still spotty but all signs point to extensive damage and casualties.

UPDATED:
Cyclone Pam rips through Vanuatu, thousands homeless

Vanuatu president calls for help after cyclone destruction

There were reports of entire villages in remote areas being destroyed, she said.

"The damage is quite extensive in Port Vila but there are so many more vulnerable islands. I can't even imagine what it's like in those vulnerable communities.''

a reply to: mc_squared

It's going to take years for Vanuatu to recover. Years.

Most of the infrastructure is either badly damaged or destroyed, and food and water is becoming scarce. The capital will almost have to be completely rebuilt, and since Vanuatu relies a lot on tourism this cyclone has effectively crippled their economy.

I've felt the wrath of a category 5 storm myself and it's not pleasant but I can't imagine what those rural communities are going through. NGO's like UNICEF, Red Cross, World Vision and Save the Children have already started funding drives and I'll be raiding the coffers to help.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

this is really bad, do what we can to help, keep them in our prayers