AN extremely powerful cyclone has reportedly blown over islands in the Pacific's Vanuatu archipelago after a westward change of course put populated areas directly in the path of its destructive 270km/h winds.
THE UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a release on Friday that there were unconfirmed reports of deaths in Vanuatu's northeastern islands after Cyclone Pam moved off its expected track.
The Category 5 cyclone had average wind speeds of 250km/h to 270km/h, with gusts up to 340km/h, according to the office. It said the periphery of the eye of the storm had passed over islands that are home to several thousand people and was expected to hit or come close to the island of Efate, home to the capital, Port Vila.Located about a quarter of the way from Australia to Hawaii, Vanuatu has a population of 267,000 spread over 65 islands. About 47,000 people live in the capital.Vanuatu had earlier issued a red alert to its residents, urging them to take shelter from Pam.Authorities said they feared the cyclone would destroy homes as well as cause landslides and severe coastal flooding.The cyclone has already destroyed some homes and caused damage to other Pacific islands including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.Earlier on Friday, a spokeswoman for relief agency UNICEF who is in Port Vila, Alice Clements, said the capital was like a ghost town as people took shelter."They've put the deck chairs at the hotel I'm staying at into the swimming pool to stop them blowing away," she said. "It's quite surreal."She said many people in Vanuatu live in flimsy shelters, especially those on the more remote outer islands.She said she expects a huge clean-up and urgent medical needs after the storm passes.Authorities in New Zealand are preparing for the storm, which is forecast to pass north of the country on Sunday and Monday.Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
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