Cyclone Pam & its effect on Vanuatu

Last Friday and Saturday cyclone Pam -- the worst in the country's history -- made its way through Oceania, almost completely destroying the island nation of Vanuatu. As a small nation of only a little over 250,000 inhabitants, Vanuatu is currently struggling to provide the care necessary for the injured, the needy, and the potentially dangerous situations that have yet to come.

The cyclone destroyed ninety percent of the country's infrastructure (this number includes governmental buildings as well as private sector offices), and killed eleven people on the spot (a number that is expected to unfortunately increase). As of this moment the country has forty-eight evacuation shelters, but the problem itself is that the country consists of more than eighty-two separate islands. How exactly does a government help its people when the government can't even help itself?

The cyclone hit the cellular towers spread throughout the country and has basically left the country without communication. So the aid that is being granted to Vanuatu through countries like Australia, New Zealand, France, and some American NGOs cannot be distributed adequately because there is no communication as to what is needed and where people must go to receive said aid. The second problem is that much of the damage has not yet been assessed because of the immense amount of territory the cyclone hit. Australian, New Zealander, and New Caledonian forces are trying to help as much as they can in any way that they can, but there is just so much to do that no one really knows where to begin, and that's causing more of a problem than the original problem itself.

Sources:

• http://www.wsj.com/articles/devastated-vanuatu-faces-uncertain-future-after-cyclone-pam-1426831012
• http://www.wired.com/2015/03/severe-challenges-bringing-cyclone-relief-vanuatu/
• http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/20/vanuatu-relief/25067149/