Damage reports coming in from Vanuatu’s north

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Vanuatu Red Cross communication officer Olivia Finau. Picture: RNZ

The Vanuatu Red Cross is reporting that houses and trees have been brought down by Cyclone Oma in the north of the country.

The Red Cross communications officer in Port Vila, Olivia Finau, said officers in the northern provinces of Sanma, Torba and Malampa are reporting damage to food gardens, crops and fruit trees.

Traditional Vanuatu houses have been worst affected by the storm according to Ms Finau.

In Torba province she said the rough seas and heavy swells have washed 50 metres inland.

“They have destroyed some of the residential houses along the coast,” said Ms Finau.

The Sanma province had not reported any significant damage so far, said Ms Finau, while in Penama heavy rainfall was the main issue.

“People cannot access the main services like hospital because the roads were blocked by flooding, water and even the sea,” she said.

Communication with the north is still very challenging.

“In Torba province it’s very poor. For the last few days we cannot receive reports from the Torres group, only from Banks and with HF radios only,” said Ms Finau.

Most telecommunications are down while transport links to the north have been cut-off since Monday.

“All flights were cancelled, even boats and ships cannot travel because of the rough seas and big swells,” she said.

The latest official cyclone warning states, seas will remain very rough to phenomenal with heavy and

phenomenal swells over the affected areas.

At 2pm local time Saturday 16 February Tropical Cyclone Oma was still a category 2 system and was located 300 kilometres west south-west of Santo and headed in a northerly direction towards the Solomon Islands.

The storm is maintaining winds in excess of 110 kilometres an hour.

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