TC Ivy lashes outer Vanuatu

[senorpepr]

A cyclone gusting at more than 200 kilometers per hour has ripped through the outlying islands of the South Pacific republic of Vanuatu, tearing down houses and uprooting trees on its way to the capital Port Vila.

Vanuatu's national disaster management office director Job Esaud says tropical cyclone Ivy tracked slowly through the republic of some 80 volcanic islands and was expected to pass just to the west of Port Vila on the island of Efate within hours.

Mr Esau says Port Vila is under cyclone alert as Ivy, packing winds of 130-148 kilometers per hour with gusts of more than 200 kilometers per hour, moved south across the Melanesian archipelago.

He says no injuries have been reported but evacuation orders had been issued for people living in low-lying areas around the capital, elsewhere on Efate and on surrounding islands north of the capital.

"Although the cyclone has not really reached Port Vila, we have activated evacuation orders for the low-lying communities and squatter settlements and there are signs of land slips in some of the areas as well as damage to some of the weaker houses," Mr Esau said.

Communication had been cut with some of the islands north of Efate, making it difficult to assess damage.
Mr Esau says wind and flooding on Maewo, Ambae, Pentecost and Ambryn islands north of Port Vila have destroyed an unknown number of houses.

"Communication is a big problem at the moment. People are just staying indoors and we are not really getting much from the community here," he said.

A shipping alert had been issued and the Vanuatu Maritime Authority was searching for a missing ship after it received a distress signal from an unidentified vessel earlier on Thursday.