Senior ministers of both countries, including deputy prime ministers Richard Marles and Johnny Koanapo, initialled the Nakamal Agreement at the summit of Mount Yasur volcano on Tanna Island, ahead of formal sign-off next month.

The two nations have agreed to a landmark deal worth A$500 million that will replace the previous security pact that was scrapped in 2022.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Ni-Vanuatu residents have emerged battered but still standing after Cyclone Kevin swiped the country with a strong backhand.

“It was quite exhausting. Dealing with two cyclones in three days is pretty draining, you know,” Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry told RNZ Pacific.

He said the gale-force winds have been rough. He woke early on Saturday morning to try and get a sense of the extent of the damage.

He went outside in the dark to charge his phone, and when the sun came up it was a real eyesore.

“Our own laneway is blocked off. We’ve got tree limbs all the way up and down,” he said.

After clearing the way, he was able to get out and about and have a look around.

Port Vila had been badly knocked about. McGarry came across a mango tree that landed directly on top of a minibus.

“And then the wind lifted the entire tree and dumped it a metre-and-a-half away,” he said.

Fuel was in short supply and a boil water order was in effect, McGarry said.

Many people were at the few hardware stores that were open, trying to buy tools to repair their properties, he said.

On Saturday evening, the Fiji Meteorological Office said the severe tropical storm remained a category five, and was centred in the ocean near Conway Reef.

Tafea province in Vanuatu, which was under a red alert as Kevin tracked south-east, had been given the all clear.

An Australian Air Force reconnaissance flight over Tafea province was reported to have shown some intact settlements and still some greenery.

🌀 Kevin s’approche de Port-Vila pic.twitter.com/yFiynj6X7j

— Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer (@jeangene_vilmer) March 3, 2023

No casualties had been immediately reported but hundreds of people fled to evacuation centres in the capital Port Vila, where Kevin blasted through as a category four storm.

Foreign aid needed
Vanuatu needs support from its international partners.

“There is going to be a significant need — this is not something Vanuatu can do alone, so the assistance of these partners is going to be critical to a speedy and effective response,” McGarry said.

He believed cooperation from donor partners was needed. France has already received a request to send a patrol plane, he said.

“I expect that New Zealand would be putting a P3 in the air before very long. Australia has already committed to sending a rapid assessment team.”

Stephen Meke, tropical cyclone forecaster with the Fiji Meteorological Service, said cyclone response teams and aid workers wanting to help should plan to travel to Vanuatu from Sunday onwards, as the weather system is forecast to lose momentum then.

“Kevin intensified into a category four system,” Meke said. “It was very close to just passing over Tanna. So it’s expected to continue diving southeastwards as a category four, then the weakening from from tomorrow onwards.”

A UNICEF spokesperson said its team was preparing to ship essential emergency supplies from Fiji in addition to emergency supplies already prepositioned in Vanuatu.

“These include tents, tarpaulins, education, and health supplies to support immediate response needs in the aftermath of the two devastating cyclones.”

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was working with the Vanuatu government and partners to see what help it could offer.

An MFAT spokesperson said New Zealand had first-hand experience of the challenges Vanuatu faced in the coming days and weeks. It had been challenging making contact with people because of damaged communications systems, they said.

Sixty-three New Zealanders are registered on the SafeTravel website as being in Vanuatu.

Parts of Vanuatu have plunged into a six-month-long state of emergency.

Evacuations in Port Vila
The Fiji Meteorological Office said Port Vila experienced the full force of Kevin’s winds. Evacuations took place in the capital.

McGarry said he knew of one family that had to escape their property and shelter at a separate home.

“The entire group spent the entire night standing in the middle of the room because the place is just drenched with water.

“So it’s been an uncomfortable night for many, and possibly quite a dangerous one for some.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

pic.twitter.com/Pj7iIHeubW

— Dan McGarry (@dailypostdan) March 3, 2023

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS) is one of the first humanitarian organisations to intervene and support the volcano internal refugees who were victims of eviction order at MCI on the road to Blacksand last week.

Emma Mesao, senior branch officer of SHEFA Red Cross, said the organisation dealt with the lives of people, and they responded to natural disasters.

While the eviction was not a natural disaster, people’s living and welfare had been affected.

On Thursday, a team was deployed to the area to assess the situation and identified two priority needs, including shelter and water.

The Red Cross distributed two tarpaulins and two jerry cans to each household. More than 60 households received their share of emergency supplies.

Mesao confirmed that when distributing the supplies, they had also encouraged the people to boil water before drinking to avoid other health issues.

Relocated to other settlements
Most of the families have relocated to other settlements.

Many of them went to Blandiniere Stage Three, and Crystal Blue Area.

Others went to other areas within the peri-urban areas of Port Vila, including Blacksand and Erangorango.

The Red Cross team visited all the areas to distribute the water containers and tarpaulins.

Speaking on behalf of the families at MCI, Lai Sakita, thanked the Red Cross for providing the families with the tarpaulins and jerry cans.

These emergency supplies would allow the people to set up temporary shelters while they resettled.

SHEFA Provincial Government Council, through its National Disaster Management Office officer supported VRCS in the logistics, during the distribution rollout.

He said these families were victims of the ash-fall from Tanna’s Yasur volcano.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Comment from Vanuatu Daily Digest

Knee-jerk resentment of someone else’s success, as elsewhere, is sadly a feature of Vanuatu life, so the kind of comment seen below, prompted by the feature film Tanna‘s global success  — and now Oscar nomination, is not unexpected:

Thanks and good tumas blo save’ but my comments is, I think my people have been exploited and although the film is making its name to the top, how are these custom village people, the film actors, the island and the country been compensated for what they have to go through to produce this film including any protocol in this country? Can some one reply to this comments with some evidence?

Exploitation is a serious claim to make, however, so we are taking this opportunity to set the record straight.

Protecting kastom mo kalja is taken very seriously in Vanuatu. The Vanuatu Cultural Centre — as the commentor may already know — has stringent protocols in place to prevent exploitation of communities.

Filmcrews must get prior approval to work in Vanuatu, are carefully monitored while working in the country, and must give a copy of their unedited footage to the Cultural Centre when they leave.

On Tanna, the Tafea Cultural Centre supervises all cultural protocols.

In the film Tanna‘s case, The filmmakers went a step further – they opened a kastom rod (a relationship built on mutual respect and kastom) between themselves, the chiefs and the community. This connection is arguably a major reason why audiences have responded so well to Tanna – the genuine, heartfelt connection between the filmmakers, the cast and the community is apparent.

Vanuatu Daily Digest reached out to the filmmakers for clarification, and Janita Suter, wife of co-director Bentley Dean and location producer for the film had this to say:

“The film was only possible through the auspices of the Vanuatu Culture Centre at a national and local level, who insist and ensure that all people involved in the productions of films in Vanuatu are dealt with fairly and respectfully — including representation and payment during production (both traditional and financial).

“Beyond this The Vanuatu Culture Centre and community of Yakel are in charge of DVD sales for all of Vanuatu, including how the film is distributed and profits. Our aim is that people should continue to benefit from their cultural output.

“We’re regularly in contact with the community, in fact one was recently staying with us! The film continues to give back to the community and the chiefs have been happy with this arrangement right from the beginning. The chiefs maintain there is a strong kastom road between us.

“It is good to clarify this sort of commentary. There were very deliberate safeguards to ensure no ‘exploitation’ occurred and that the correct ‘monetary compensation’ was made for those involved in the film. This was all arranged through the official relevant Vanuatu institutions described above, as is the correct process for filming in Vanuatu, as well as the traditional chiefs of the villages involved.

“If people have queries on this they can speak with the chiefs of Yakel or Jacob Kapere from the Cultural Centre, or the cultural director of Tanna, JJ Nako (if you can find him!).”