SYDNEY, December 17, 2012 – The European Union, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Vanuatu will today agree to an US$11.52 million partnership aimed at building communities’ resilience to extreme weather conditions.

The program combines plans that reduce the risk of natural disasters with policies that address climate change and climate variability.

Interview on ABC Radio Australia, 26 November 2012

In Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, Caritas Australia has been working with local teachers to develop a Disaster Risk Management program to educate young children on what to do during emergencies.

Adam Elliot, Caritas Australia’s Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Program Manager, spoke to ABC Radio Australia about this innovative program.

Humanitarian aid organisation, CARE is helping thousands of people in Vanuatu to protect themselves from the constant threat of natural disasters such as earthquakes and cyclones.

As the world prepares to mark International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) on Saturday, Vanuatu in the South Pacific has today been named the country with the greatest disaster risk worldwide due to its high exposure to natural hazards, climate change and a range of other factors including vulnerable roads and poor erosion protection.

Extract:

INTRODUCTION

This report is produced by OCHA in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It was issued by the OCHA Pacific office. It covers the period from 10 to 17 February. Unless there are significant new development this will be the last report on this event.

I. HIGHLIGHTs/key priorities

• TC Jasmine caused minor damage in Vanuatu’s TAFEA province, mainly to agriculture and water systems, as assessed by members of the Vanuatu Humanitarian Team.

Tropical Cyclone Jasmine passed close to Tafea Province on 10th February 2012. The islands that were reporting some sort of damages done by this cyclone were Tanna and Aneityum.
These are the islands which still have communication linkages using the mobile networks. The NDMO could not establish communication with Futuna and Aniwa islands.

Initial damage reports were coming in from different sources and this information needed to be verified by an independent source and therefore the NDMO organize a rapid technical assessment team from Port Vila.

Updated February 13, 2012 09:44:01

Disaster Assessment teams have visited the southern Vanuatu islands damaged by Cyclone Jasmine last week.

The teams were to get a clearer picture of the destruction of Tafea, the Province most affected by the cyclone's gale force winds and heavy rainfall.

Oxfam in Vanuatu, has been receiving frequent updates from assessment teams in Tanna.

Presenter: Geraldine Coutts Speaker:Alex Mathieson, Oxfam's Country Director in Vanuatu

Cyclone Jasmine has left Vanuatu waters and is heading south into the open ocean, after leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Shadrack Welegtabic from Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office says once air and ground damage assessments are completed, work will begin on getting aid to the southern island's most severely affected areas.

Presenter: Bruce Hill

Speaker: Shadrack Welegtabic, Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office

Listen: Windows Media

Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office has spent the day trying to determine if it needs to declare a state of emergency in the wake of Cyclone Jasmine .

Earlier today the storm was downgraded from a red to a blue alert.

The Tafea Province in the south has been at the centre of concern.

Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office says any decision to declare a state of emergency would be made after the assess the report of an aerial survey carried out today.

Presenter: Bruce Hill