“And then the wind lifted the entire tree and dumped it a metre and a half away,” he said.
Foreign aid needed
Vanuatu needs support from its international partners.
“There is going to be a significant need - this is not something Vanuatu can do alone, so the assistance of these partners is going to be critical to a speedy and effective response,” McGarry said.
He believed co-operation from donor partners was needed. France has already received a request to send a patrol plane, he said.
“I expect that New Zealand will be putting a [Lockheed P-3 Orion] in the air before very long. Australia has already committed to sending a rapid assessment team.”
Stephen Meke, a tropical cyclone forecaster with the Fiji Meteorological Service, said cyclone response teams and aid workers wanting to help should plan to travel to Vanuatu from Sunday onwards, as the weather system is forecast to lose momentum then.
“Kevin intensified into a Category Four system,” Meke said. “It was very close to just passing over Tanna. So it’s expected to continue diving southeastwards as a Category Four system, then the weakening from tomorrow onwards.”
A Unicef spokesperson said its team is preparing to ship essential emergency supplies from Fiji, in addition to emergency supplies already pre-positioned in Vanuatu.
“These include tents, tarpaulins, education, and health supplies to support immediate response needs in the aftermath of the two devastating cyclones.”
Unicef is preparing to ship tents, tarpaulins, education, and health supplies to support immediate response needs on the ground. Photo / Unicef
On Saturday, Tafea province was still under red alert.
