An elderly man is moved to shelter on the island of Pentecost, in Vanuatu. Photo / VN News
A team of eye doctors and nurses in Vanuatu have spent a harrowing night hunkering down on an island tipped to be one of the most severely hit by Cyclone Lola.
Members of the New Zealand charity Fred Hollows Foundation eye clinic were caught out while travelling to perform eye examinations on locals in Torba Province - the northernmost part of the island country.
Senior programme manager Quenelda Clegg told the Herald: “Ophthalmologist Dr Johnson Kasso and four eye nurses are currently in Maewa, Torba Province, as they were performing eye examinations there.
“The eye team has stopped the examinations and stayed in a safe house while 300 plus kilometre winds passed over last night.”
Clegg said it is expected there will be significant damage and destruction in Torba, as well as Pentecost Province.”
The team is usually based at the Vanuatu National Eye Centre in the capital city, Port Vila - where the cyclone is now set to be heading towards.
Clegg said the clinic had been specifically strengthened to withstand extreme weather conditions, so expected the clinic to remain standing after the cyclone.
First images south-east Malekula
— Johanna Brinkman (@JohannaBrinkman) October 24, 2023
Photo credit : Gorden Regenvanu#vanuatu #cyclonelola pic.twitter.com/9vQTkrYFcs
Cyclone Lola is just hours away from making landfall on Vanuatu and is expected to wreak “significant to destructive impacts” on the island nation.
At least 90 Kiwis and thousands of locals in Vanuatu are bracing for Tropical Cyclone Lola’s onslaught.
The latest update from the Vanuatu Meteorology authorities says modelling now shows Tropical Cyclone Lola about 75km southeast of Malekula island - the second largest island in Vanuatu - and about 25km west-northwest of Epi island.
The cyclone has moved in a south direction at 6km/hr in the last three hours, the authority said.
Latest modelling shows winds close to the centre of the cyclone are now about 130km/hr, gusting up to 185km/h.
These are expected to affect the islands of Penama, Malampa and Shefa in the next 24 hours.
“Destructive hurricane-force winds of 125km/h gusting to 185km/h are expected to affect Penama and Malampa today and Shefa province in the next six to 12 hours.”
The warning also says that destructive force winds of up to 110km gusting to 160km/h are within 60 nautical miles from the centre of the system and will affect the same provinces later today - although an estimated time has not been given.
“Damaging gale force winds 75km/h with gusting to 105km/h are between 40 to 100 nautical miles from the centre of the system and will continue to affect Penama, Malampa and Shefa province as well today.”
Noel Horo last heard from his mother on Ambae island - in the Penama province - yesterday.
“We can’t reach them now. Yesterday, during the phone call, the network went down and it’s still down.
“When I spoke with her, she said they’ve been evacuated to a school. She said the wind was starting to get stronger and some of the village people went to her house to evacuate her to the school.”
Speaking from his home in Port Vila, where he lives with his wife and two young children, Horo said many people were waiting to hear from loved ones in other parts of the country - particularly from those living in northern islands that had been battered and which now had no communication networks working.
Severe Cyclone #Lola continues to batter the island nation of #Vanuatu in the South Pacific with winds of 195 km/h. Latest satellite view + forecast: pic.twitter.com/57adUPFa8y
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) October 24, 2023
He hails from Ambae, however, so his entire family is there. The family had also struggled to get in touch with his wife’s side of the family - on Pentecost island.
The last time they had been able to contact anyone there was yesterday afternoon.
“We live here in Port Vila and we are okay at the moment. We are getting [text] messages from Digicel telling us the alerts and tracking the cyclone.
“We’ve got our house ready and we have saved some water. My kids are young - my son is 5 years old and my 1-year-old daughter.
“Most of the people here are praying that maybe the cyclone will turn.”
Earlier, weather reports had forecasts of up to 320km/h winds.
It will be the most intense tropical cyclone in recorded history to form ahead of the official start of the Southern Hemisphere season (November 1 to April 30), MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said.
Speaking to the Herald from Port Havana, New Zealander Jeremy Dick said he has been shuttering windows and buildings, tying down loose objects and dragging boats onto the shore. He said people had been given plenty of warning of the coming storm.
“I’ve been at work [yesterday] morning and most people are doing the same thing - going around and preparing your properties and your shutters.
“At the moment, everyone is very nervous about the northern islands. You’ve got half-hourly broadcasts on the radio, a tracking map telling you exactly where it’s going and the speed.”
The latest track map for Severe TC Lola has been issued by the @FJMETservice
— MetService (@MetService) October 24, 2023
Severe TC Lola is now at Category 4, continuing across Vanuatu today before curving southwards towards New Caledonia over the next couple of days pic.twitter.com/2qf5jAwuLP
Dick said local authorities appeared more prepared for Lola than previous cyclones this year.
Another group of Kiwis who are part of the Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) agency in Vanuatu said on social media they were relying on a satellite phone for communications and have been in contact with the New Zealand High Commission.
“We are red alert and she is a Cat 5,” the post said. “Our house is the safe house for the [Espiritu] Santo [island] VSA volunteers (except one whose husband is the Kiwi cop on Santo) so there are six of us spending the night together.
“We have lots of food, good company and wine and we will be conserving battery and data until it’s all over.”
Although the worst of the storm is expected to miss New Zealand, we may still feel the leftover effects later in the week.
Cyclone Lola is expected to make landfall over Vanuatu, specifically the provinces of Torba, Sanma, Penama and Malampa, within the next 24 hours.
At Lola’s centre, the winds are estimated to reach approximately 320km/h. The strongest winds during Cyclone Gabrielle earlier this year gusted at around 130km/h, which stripped entire forests.
Lola’s winds were yesterday sustained at 210km/h and gusting 260km/h or more. This is a minimum air pressure of 940 hPa.
Severe tropical cyclone Lola will impact Vanuatu today with significant to destructive impacts.
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) October 24, 2023
Thereafter, @FJMETservice has #Lola weakening to a category 1 as it approaches New Caledonia on Friday.
Here, weakening is shown by the fading discernible centre & highest gusts (🔴) pic.twitter.com/qmrR60MBrz
“The storm is a major ‘worst-case scenario’ for Vanuatu, not only due to the cyclone being Category 5 but it is slow moving, perhaps only tracking 8km/h tonight which is human walking speed,” weather forecasting agency WeatherWatch NZ reported.
“This slow movement increases the risks of damage.”
This is the fourth tropical cyclone to hit Vanuatu this year, with Irene hitting in mid-January and twin cyclones Kevin and Judy at the beginning of March.
The New Zealand Defence Force is aware the cyclone has intensified and was monitoring the situation, a spokesman said.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said officials are monitoring Lola, with 90 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Vanuatu.
“Aotearoa New Zealand stands ready to assist our Vanuatu whānau, and to consider to any requests for assistance from the Government of Vanuatu.
“We are sending SafeTravel messaging to New Zealanders registered as being in, or travelling to, Vanuatu. New Zealanders in Vanuatu are advised to follow the advice of the local authorities (including any evacuation orders), seek suitable shelter, and keep their family and friends in New Zealand informed of their safety and wellbeing, including after the cyclone has passed.”
Wind speeds were tipped to “pick up more and more as the storm makes landfall”, head forecaster for WeatherWatch Phillip Duncan said.
🌀Tropical Cyclone Lola is now a powerful Category 5 system 🌀
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) October 24, 2023
This is the first time a Tropical Cyclone has reached this strength during the month of October since reliable satellite records began in 1969 pic.twitter.com/XZgHCTEWmr
“[Cyclone] Gabrielle was nothing like what this storm is now. This is more powerful,” he explained.
“It’s a pretty intense storm. Category 5 - winds at the centre are ferocious. It’s nothing like what we get in New Zealand. It’s phenomenal.”
Lola was, as of Tuesday night, tracking to miss the capital, Port Vila, he said.
Weather modelling last night showed a low-pressure system near Brisbane was “basically going to steal energy from this storm”.
“Once it passes over Vanuatu it’ll fall apart and weaken,” Duncan said.
Vanuatu Red Cross spokeswoman Shirley Johnson told RNZ she feared the island nation does not have enough relief to support people through the cyclone.
Communication lines were down in Torba province, Johnson said, and no one had been able to reach anyone there.
“We are expecting to have major, major damages. I am afraid we won’t have enough relief in time to save the people,” she said.
Johnson said there is “only one storage facility” holding enough relief kits for only “100 households” for the Torba province’s population of more than 9000 people.
Heavy rainfall with flash flooding is expected over low-lying areas close to riverbanks, including coastal flooding.
The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) said volunteers are “actively engaged” in the community ahead of the cyclone and are taking stock of the relief items and informing residents of evacuation centres.
Tropical Cyclone Lola, is currently intensifying & poses a significant threat to Vanuatu.
— IFRC (@ifrc) October 23, 2023
Teams from @vanuaturedcross are actively engaged in local communities disseminating awareness messages.
Early warning and early actions are key for saving lives. pic.twitter.com/iSJbCFsyFS
It is possible that leftovers from a tropical low may track towards New Zealand later this week, however, it will likely fall apart or weaken significantly.
“There is still plenty of time to clarify where and what impacts the remains of Lola will have on New Zealand,” Makgabutlane said.
“Early indications are that into early next week, the northern parts of the country are most likely to see wetter weather and strong winds, while high pressure builds across the southern parts of New Zealand.
“The MetService forecasting team will continue to monitor the situation in the tropics.”
New Zealanders in Vanuatu are encouraged to register on SafeTravel and read our advice for Tropical Cyclone Lola here. New Zealanders requiring urgent consular assistance can call the 24/7 Consular emergency line on +64 99 20 20 20.
The koru was taken from a grave sometime last week, leaving the family devastated.