The Australian government is sending humanitarian aid to Vanuatu following the devastating damage caused by cyclone Pam.
It is believed about eight people have died, though the number could change as rescuers try to reach cut-off islands and isolated regions. The number is not thought to include any Australians.
Australia has sent water supplies, shelter, sanitation kits and medical supplies.
“We have medical teams on the ground, but we also have engineers and others to assist in the rescue efforts and also to begin assessing what will be required in terms of reconstruction,” foreign minister Julie Bishop told reporters on Monday morning.
Australian authorities are working with counterparts from France, the United Kingdom and New Zealand in the search and rescue mission.
The Australian government will offer non-government organisations, the Red Cross and the United Nations a total of $5m in assistance. It will also provide humanitarian aid including water and shelter to assist up to 5,000 people.
British prime minister David Cameron has pledged ₤2m (A$3.8m) in aid to help Vanuatu in the aftermath of the devastating category five cyclone.
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott spoke with his counterpart in Vanuatu, Joe Natuman, overnight.
“Prime minister Natuman thanked the Australian government and people for their assistance,” a statement released by Abbott’s office said. “He advised that Vanuatu had declared a state of emergency to enable its national disaster management office to get on with the recovery task.”
Bishop confirmed that “there are no Australians among those listed as casualties, but we are ensuring that we are making contact with all Australians who we know are in Vanuatu”.
“About 1,400 Australians have registered with the government at this stage. But we expect that at any one time there could be up to 3,000 Australians in Vanuatu,” she said.
Extra consular staff have been sent to the capital, Port Vila, to help the Australian high commission cope with an influx of requests, Bishop said.
“We have had a number of requests for consular assistance,” the foreign minister said. “We have offered assisted passage back to Australia. Our military aircraft are coming back to Australia and so people can apply to travel back on the military planes. But at this stage the commercial flights are flying.”
The airport in Port Vila has reopened following the category five cyclone which tore through the Pacific nation on Friday night.
The country is used to storms, but cyclone Pam, with its 250km/h winds, has caused devastation on a previously unseen scale.
Australia has also received requests for assistance from the governments of the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that we are now dealing with worse than the worst-case scenario in Vanuatu,” head of Oxfam in Australia, Helen Szoke, said. “Oxfam is committed to helping Vanuatu for as long as it takes.”
“I imagine that, as we carry out our assessments across the Pacific that there’ll be a need for long-term recovery efforts. But at this stage we’re focusing on the immediate humanitarian needs,” Bishop said.
The head of Oxfam in Vanuatu, Colin Collet van Rooyen, said the lack of clean water and sanitation were the most pressing needs.
“There are more than 100,000 people likely homeless, more than 90% of houses damaged in Port Vila alone, nearly every school destroyed, full evacuation centres, damage to health facilities and the morgue,” he said.
- Australians who have concerns about friends and family in Vanuatu can call the consular assistance line on 1300 555 135.