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Vanuatu Death Toll Is Likely to Rise as Glimpses of Cyclone’s Fury Emerge | Vanuatu Death Toll Is Likely to Rise as Glimpses of Cyclone’s Fury Emerge |
(about 9 hours later) | |
HONG KONG — Initial glimpses of remote parts of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, which was lashed by a cyclone over the weekend, indicated widespread devastation, relief workers said Tuesday. | |
Communication with many islands in the archipelago remained patchy on Tuesday, but accounts trickling in from pilots, satellite phones and radio messages pointed to extensive damage, Aurélia Balpe, the Pacific regional head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said by telephone from Fiji. | |
A pilot who had flown to Tanna, an island in the south that was crossed by the eye of the cyclone, reported that “basically, there were no traditional houses standing,” Ms. Balpe said. | |
It remained unclear how many people had been killed. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report that it had confirmed 11 fatalities, revising an earlier estimate of 24. But the count did not include more isolated islands where fierce winds of 160 miles an hour and higher leveled many homes as the cyclone struck Vanuatu starting late Friday, and relief workers were concerned that the toll could rise. | |
An Australian air surveillance team said in a report shared with aid workers late Tuesday that there was widespread destruction in the smaller settlements on Tanna. | An Australian air surveillance team said in a report shared with aid workers late Tuesday that there was widespread destruction in the smaller settlements on Tanna. |
About 70 percent of the buildings in the island’s capital, Isangel, were damaged, it reported, and crops appeared to be spoiled but were still standing. | About 70 percent of the buildings in the island’s capital, Isangel, were damaged, it reported, and crops appeared to be spoiled but were still standing. |
But in smaller settlements on the island, including Yarouareung in the south and Lowiteul in the north, all of the buildings had been damaged, the report said. In some small settlements, no people could be seen from the air. | |
The devastation in the smaller villages is “frightening,” said Tom Perry, a spokesman for Care Australia. | |
Mr. Perry added that the runway at the Tanna airport was functional but that the roof of the terminal had been blown off. | Mr. Perry added that the runway at the Tanna airport was functional but that the roof of the terminal had been blown off. |
Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for Unicef in Port-Vila, Vanuatu’s capital, said the cyclone’s destructive power had forced 80 percent of Tanna’s population of about 30,000 to abandon their homes. | |
Vanuatu has a population of about 270,000 people on 65 inhabited islands, with 50,000 people in Port-Vila. Up to 60,000 children need humanitarian assistance immediately, Unicef said, and one aid worker on Vanuatu, Gaelle Sevenier, reported that food supplies were quickly running out. | Vanuatu has a population of about 270,000 people on 65 inhabited islands, with 50,000 people in Port-Vila. Up to 60,000 children need humanitarian assistance immediately, Unicef said, and one aid worker on Vanuatu, Gaelle Sevenier, reported that food supplies were quickly running out. |
“Everything is wiped out,” she said in a report provided by Unicef. “There’s some fruit on the ground from fallen trees, but soon there’ll be nothing. Families have told me they only have a little rice left, if anything at all.” | “Everything is wiped out,” she said in a report provided by Unicef. “There’s some fruit on the ground from fallen trees, but soon there’ll be nothing. Families have told me they only have a little rice left, if anything at all.” |
Narua Joe Kwane, chief of a 200-person village near Port-Vila, said the cyclone had torn down all the houses. “We now have to live outside, sleep outside with the children, and it may rain again,” he told Unicef workers. “So far, no one came, no one gave us food. We have no water, nothing.” | |
The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said on Tuesday that her country would send a search-and-rescue team to Vanuatu later in the day to assess damage and recovery needs. | The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said on Tuesday that her country would send a search-and-rescue team to Vanuatu later in the day to assess damage and recovery needs. |
The Australian defense minister, Kevin Andrews, said that forces from Australia, Britain, France and New Zealand were flying reconnaissance missions or providing aid, and that the United States was prepared to send a disaster relief team. | The Australian defense minister, Kevin Andrews, said that forces from Australia, Britain, France and New Zealand were flying reconnaissance missions or providing aid, and that the United States was prepared to send a disaster relief team. |