Over the fortnight, two cyclones occurred, and an Earthquake was inflicted on the Pacific Island of Vanuatu. After Tropical Cyclone Judy and Tropical Cyclone Kevin surged through and made landfall in such space, the island was jolted with a 6.5 magnitude Earthquake to compound the woes of the recovery efforts. This follows just weeks after another cyclone impacted the Southern Pacific
These two storms have caused damage and inundated areas with floods.
“We are a resilient people. We will get through this,” Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau told the broadcaster RNZ Pacific on Friday(Vanuatu_ Pacific Nation Reels from Twin Cyclones and Earthquake – BBC News, n.d.)
Many aid workers were left in a lurch as two back-to-back cyclones completely jolted recovery measures.
“It’s crazy, Vanuatu is used to natural disasters, but I think this is the first time it has had two cyclones back-to-back,” said UNICEF’s Eric Durpaire, according to AFP news agency (Vanuatu_ Pacific Nation Reels from Twin Cyclones and Earthquake – BBC News, n.d.)
As relief efforts make an inroad, the damage done can never be substituted. The head of the IRFC Pacific Office said: “Two back-to-back cyclones means that the immediate needs will be huge. “IFRC is ready to provide support as we anticipate that the needs will be scaled up in the coming days.” (“Vanuatu: Back-to-back cyclones hammer island nation, recovery efforts …”). We are working closely with the team at Vanuatu Red Cross and preparing for the days ahead.”(Vanuatu_ Back-to-Back Cyclones Hammer Island Nation, Recovery Efforts Will Be Immense _ IFRC, n.d.)
Another organization in the midst of relief efforts is the Vanuatu Red Cross which is reaching out to 300 people currently taking shelter in an evacuation centre. The Red Cross provides basic amenities such as blankets, Hygiene kits for washing and cleaning solar lanterns.
Vanuatu Red Cross secretary confirms assurance that they are prepositioned all these items,
According to Vanuatu Red Cross Secretary General Dickinson Tevi, “We are still trying to establish communication with our branch in Tanna. We still have not heard anything since cyclone Judy hit. We have pre-positioned relief items on the island ready to be distributed to affected households. (“Vanuatu: Back-to-back cyclones hammer island nation, recovery efforts …”) Despite being cut off from the rest of the country, our trained staff and volunteers on the island will know what to do as this is what we prepare them for every year as part of our disaster preparedness training.”(Vanuatu_ Back-to-Back Cyclones Hammer Island Nation, Recovery Efforts Will Be Immense _ IFRC, n.d.)
In such despair, many nations have come to the aid of Vanuatu, including neighbouring Australia, Canada, UK, and to add further, there have been close to about 103 nations; in all this, the most ironic omissions which have not come to aid Vanuatu are China and the US the nations who are the two biggest carbon polluters of the world.
Understanding Tropical Cyclone Judy
On the 23rd of February the Fiji Meteorological department began on the 23rd of February when the Fiji Meteorological Service reported a tropical disturbance 08F; it developed to the Southeast of Halao in Wallis and Futuna. At 9:00 PM, Cyclone Judy became a category 1 tropical cyclone.
At 22:00 UTC, Cyclone Judy landed on the Island of Efate. The Highest winds recorded were 195 kmph, equivalent to a Category 3 Equivalent Cyclone.
Tropical Cyclone Kevin
On 27th February, The Australian Meteorology department reported that a tropical low 18 U had developed about 180 km (about 111.85 mi) north of Cooktown in Queensland.
The Maximum speed attained by this cyclone was more severe at 260 kmph; on March 4th, this became a category 5 cyclone.
Jolted Earthquake
At around 5:04 local time, there was a devastating earthquake of 6.5 Richter scale at a depth of 10 kilometres (about 6.21 mi). However, the pacific warning centre said there is no threat of a Tsunami for the Islands already battered by Cyclone Judy. This comes after another earthquake struck the islands at a higher Richter scale of 7.0 Espiritu Santo, prompting the villagers to go to higher grounds with little or no damage.
The nation of 320,000 lies in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where tectonic plates collide and experience frequent seismic and volcanic activity. It is one of the most susceptible countries to earthquakes, storms, flooding, and tsunami, according to the annual World Risk Report (Vanuatu Gets Back-to-Back Earthquakes, Cyclone – DW – 03_03_2023, n.d.)
“People on (Espiritu) Santo felt the earthquake but couldn’t go outside to assess the damage because of the high winds,” Dickinson Tevi, secretary general of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society, told AFP from the capital, Port Vila (Vanuatu Gets Back-to-Back Earthquakes, Cyclone – DW – 03_03_2023, n.d.)
