Cyclone Pam has left Vanuatu in devastation as the island nation attempts to assess the full extent of damages done by the storm over the weekend. Currently, at least 24 individuals are dead as a direct result of the weekend's category 5 cyclone.
Vanuatu's population, as well as infrastructure, has taken heavy losses. Besides the casualties, over 3,000 inhabitants of the island are displaced. The storm destroyed crucial buildings and homes that left many homeless. Basic infrastructures, such as telephone and power lines, destroyed. Many inhabitants of the island do not have the means of contacting others, and some family members do not know the current locations or conditions of other relatives and loved ones.
President Baldwin Lonsdale of Vanuatu stated that the storm was a "monster" and had wiped out many parts of the country. Lonsdale asked for aid from the international community in order to help rebuild Vanuatu, which he says needs to start over after previous development had been destroyed.
President Lonsdale spoke in Sendai, Japan to the UN on Monday in order to explain his nation's situation. "It's a setback for the government and for the people of Vanuatu. After all the development that has taken place, all this development has been wiped out," he said.
"I am very emotional "¦ Everyone has that same feeling. We don't know what happened to our families "¦ We cannot reach our families; we do not know if our families are safe. As the leader of the nation, my heart hurts for the people of the whole nation," said the President of the island nation.
Various nations from around the world have responded to the requests for help. Countries such as Australia and New Zealand have given more than $7 million in aid, and relief teams in Vanuatu have been helping the thousands of displaced.
