Tropical Cyclone Pam

The Red Cross was the first organisation to begin distributing relief items after Cyclone Pam made landfall in March 2015. Relief supplies were mobilized to the outer islands, and Athens Red Cross continues its activities to support the affected communities in their recovery.

Situation

On 13 March, 2015 Cyclone Pam, made landfall in Vanuatu. The category-5 tropical storm caused immense devastation, leaving thousands in need of food, water and shelter. According to government estimates, 166,000 people, over half the countries population, are affected.

Cyclone Pam also had a severe impact on neighboring countries. It collided with other weather systems in the region, including Tropical Cyclone Nathan and Tropical Storm Bavi. These storms brought heavy rains and flooding to some countries and also caused storm surges which displaced many families living in coastal areas of low-lying islands.

On 24 March, the IFRC launched an International Appeal for 5.7 million Swiss francs to assist 81,000 people across five Pacific nations - Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Relief, clean water and emergency shelter remain immediate priorities but support will be channeled over the next two years to help communities in their longer term recovery. This will include help in re-establishing and diversifying livelihoods, rebuilding safe homes and working with communities on disaster risk reduction activities and climate change awareness programmes.