Herald Scotland reports on the situation on the pacific island nation of Vanuatu after being hit by cyclone Pam:
The president of Vanuatu says that his country must “start anew” after cyclone Pam hit the archipelago recently, destroying or damaging most of the buildings in the capital alone.
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The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has lost years of development progress and must “start anew” following a powerful cyclone that destroyed or damaged 90 per cent of the buildings in the capital of Port Vila, the country’s president said.
Baldwin Lonsdale, visibly weary and red eyed from lack of sleep, said he and other top government officials were preparing to return home from Sendai, in north-eastern Japan, where they were attending a disaster conference.
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Mr Lonsdale said the limited information he was able to get from home showed six people confirmed dead, and 30 injured and taken to hospital on Port Vila after the category 5 typhoon smashed across the Vanuatu archipelago.
He said information from other islands was not available because most communication links were still not working. But the airport in Port Vila has reopened, allowing aid and relief flights to reach the country. Port Vila is on the country’s main island of Efate.
“This is a very devastating cyclone in Vanuatu. I term it as a monster, a monster. It’s a setback for the government and for the people of Vanuatu. After all the development that has taken place, all this development has been wiped out.”
“So it means we will have to start anew again,” Mr Lonsdale said.
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