Vanuatu needs shelter, water

Press, 15 January 1988, Page 3

Vanuatu needs shelter, water

PA Wellington Clean water supplies and shelter were the most urgent needs for people on the cyclone-hit Banks and Torres Island groups in Vanuatu, said a New Zealand diplomat there yesterday. The two groups off the north coast of Espiritu Santo were in the most remote and inaccessible part of Vanuatu, Mr lan Fletcher, the second secretary at the New Zealand High Commission in Port Vila, told the Press Association. A Royal New Zealand

Air Force Andover, which left Auckland for Vanuatu at dawn yesterday, “was really the lynchpin” in getting help to the islanders, as rough seas and the length of time it would take to reach the islands made it impractical to consign by boat. “There are three tiny airstrips on the islands which the Andover alone can get into carrying a useful load of cargo,” said Mr Fletcher. The Vanuatu Government would be able to provide most of the relief supplies needed, but New Zealand had sent a load

of tarpaulins at Vanuatu’s request to help with immediate shelter and water collection problems. Cyclone Anne passed between the two groups, totalling about 15 islands, on January 11. Estimates of the islands’ population range from 5000 to 8000 people but no loss of life had been reported. However, the cyclone “seems to have done a good deal of damage to the locally built grass and weave houses and to the food crops and water supply,” said Mr Fletcher. Once the Andover arrived the Vanuatu Gov-

ernment would be able to send relief and public health workers to the islands. “The real effort is to get clear water supplies and control the rodent population, and then get into reconstruction,” he said. Rats were a major problem after food storage buildings had been destroyed because they raided the unprotected supplies and ate newly planted crops. A Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said the Andover and its crew would be based in Espiritu Santo

and would make transport flights to the affected islands. New Zealand had already provided a cash grant of $3OOO to allow Vanuatu to make a surveillance flight over the affected area, said the Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Wilde. “We are in hourly contact with the disaster relief committee in Vanuatu through our High Commission in Vila,” said Ms Wilde. “We will assess the need for further material assistance as requests come to hand.”