SONNA – A state of emergency has been declared in Vanuatu as Category 4 Cyclone Kevin brought gale-force winds and torrential rain to the Pacific nation battling its second large cyclone in a week and was also rattled by two earthquakes.
Spread across 13 principal islands in the southwestern Pacific, Vanuatu has already been battered by Cyclone Judy, which hit the capital Port Vila on Wednesday, cutting power and forcing some residents to evacuate.
As the country cleared roads and restored power lines cut by Cyclone Judy, residents were jolted early on Friday by twin earthquakes and told to hunker down as Cyclone Kevin approached.
“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,” Eric Durpaire, of the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Vanuatu are estimated to be affected by the two massive Category 4 cyclones, which slammed across the island nation within 24 hours, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement on Saturday.
Severe Tropical cyclone #Kevin is hitting Pacific island #Vanuatu, which was also shaken by an earthquake today and impacted by cyclone #Judy earlier this week. Destructive winds and heavy rains, says WMO regional centre @FJMETservice
Image @CopernicusEU #Sentinel2 of 2 March pic.twitter.com/qzklDQfFnP
— World Meteorological Organization (@WMO) March 3, 2023
Source: Agencies
