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Oxfam ready to respond to Cyclone Pam
International aid agency Oxfam has said it is ready to deliver humanitarian aid to the victims of Cyclone Pam, which was upgraded to a severe Category 5 tropical cyclone on Friday, triggering evacuations to emergency shelters across Vanuatuâs southern provinces
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nternational aid agency Oxfam has said it is ready to deliver humanitarian aid to the victims of Cyclone Pam, which was upgraded to a severe Category 5 tropical cyclone on Friday, triggering evacuations to emergency shelters across Vanuatu's southern provinces.
The storm would pass close to Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, the city recently named as the most exposed to natural disasters in the world, forecasts said.
Oxfam's executive director Helen Szoke said if the cyclone followed its current predicted path, the results could be devastating for Vanuatu.
'Even if Tropical Cyclone Pam does not strike the city directly there is potential for major damage,' Szoke said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.
She said under normal circumstances, Port Vila was prone to flash flooding, which made roads impassable; thus, flooding from this cyclone was expected to be much worse.
'People have started evacuating to emergency centers established in schools and churches where they are available. Communities in low-lying informal settlements are most vulnerable and these people are urgently being asked to move to higher ground,' Szoke said, asserting Oxfam's readiness to respond to the disaster with emergency stocks.
Vanuatu country director Colin Collett van Rooyen said the areas of greatest concern were Shefa province in the country's south, where the capital is located, and Tafea province in the far south.
Warnings have been issued for high seas, coastal flooding and destructive winds already seen in the north of the country. Major concerns include impacts on the health system, with the hospital in Port Vila prone to flash flooding in much less severe conditions.
'Port Vila was recently named in the Natural Hazards Risk Atlas and is known as the city most exposed to natural disasters in the world because it faces a combination of risks including earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding and tropical cyclones such as Cyclone Pam,' van Rooyen said.
Shefa has a population of around 80,000 people and Tafea a further 32,000.
'If the current path predictions are correct the impact on these people could be severe,' van Rooyen said.
Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office has alerted residents on remote islands about the storm by sending them text messages. (ebf)(+++)
