The World Bank Reports: Between March 12th & 14th, 2015, Tropical Cyclone Pam swept through 22 islands of Vanuatu as an extremely destructive Category 5 cyclone. The World Bank report cited Cyclone Pam as the "worst disaster to hit the Pacific region in recent memory, causing huge damage and loss in Vanuatu". In March of 2015, this natural catastrophe was also referred to as the "strongest cyclone on record to make landfall in the South Pacific region".
Directly following the cyclone: An estimated 65,000 people were in need of temporary emergency shelter. On 23 March 2015, the Government of Vanuatu announced the imminent closure of evacuation centre as people were currently living in schools used as evacuation shelters as well as with neighbours or extended family members. CARE Shelter Advisor in Middlebush and Whitesands conducted initial rapid assessments describing situations where around 20 people were sleeping in a room or in make-shift shacks. (Care, P. 7 shelter)
The cyclone caused serious detriment to the livelihoods of over 40,000 households, severely limiting their capacities to generate income and resulting in losses of around VT 1.6 billion Vanuatu Vats or 146.6 Million US in personal income.
WORKS CITED
APHEDA. (2015, March). VANUATU: Recovering from Cyclone Pam. Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA. Retrieved from http://apheda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/VANUATU_Report-back.pdf
CARE International. (2015, April 7). Rapid Gender Analysis Cyclone Pam Vanuatu. Retrieved from http://care.ca/sites/default/files/files/RGA%20Cyclone%20Pam%20Vanuatu%207%20April%202015.pdf
Esler, S., & Himmelfarb, A. (2015, March). Vanuatu Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Tropical Cyclone Pam. Government of Vanuatu. Retrieved from https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/publication/PDNA_Cyclone_Pam_Vanuatu_Report.pdf
European Commision (ECHO). (2016, January). ECHO Factsheet - The Pacific Region. European Commision Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/pacific_en.pdf
Government of Vanuatu. (2015, March). Vanuatu Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Tropical Cyclone Pam. Vanuatu Prime Minister’s Office. Retrieved from https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/publication/PDNA_Cyclone_Pam_Vanuatu_Report.pdf
Humanitarian Adivisory Group. (2015, March 31). PROTECTION OVERVIEW : RESPONSE TO CYCLONE PAM – VANUATU. Humanitarian Adivisory Group. Retrieved from http://cpwg.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/04/Cyclone-Pam_Protection-Overview_Humanitarian-Advisory-Group-copy.pdf
IFRC. (2015, March). Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Vanuatu: Tropical Cyclone Pam. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Retrieved from adore.ifrc.org/Download.aspx?FileId=72751
Mucke, P., Jeschonnek, L., Garschagen, M., Schauber, A., Seibert, T., Welle, T., … others. (2014). WorldRiskReport 2014: The city as a risk area (Vol. 2014). Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft. Retrieved from http://i.unu.edu/media/ehs.u
