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Tens of thousands of people across Vanuatu are bunkering down as a powerful category five cyclone moves slowly across the Pacific island nation.
Key points:
- Bans on public gatherings are lifted to allow people to make their way to evacuation centres
- Current rules on social distancing against the coronavirus won't apply in shelters
- Vanuatu is still preparing for the worst after receiving a weather warning this morning
There are warnings of heavy rain and flash flooding for low-lying areas and winds of up to 215 kilometres per hour at the cyclone's centre.
Vanuatu is already in a state of emergency because of coronavirus although the country has no confirmed cases.
Over the weekend, disaster authorities had to lift bans on public gatherings larger than five, to ensure people made their way to evacuation centres.
Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) told people current rules on social distancing will not apply in shelters.
NDMO director Abraham Nasak said there was some confusion around the social-gathering rules, but said given the threat posed by the cyclone, people's safety was paramount.
"The rules about social gatherings don't apply right now because people need to be moving to safe shelters and evacuation centres to hide from the cyclone," he said in a post on social media.
Manson Taridenga, a disaster official in the northern province of Penama, said the impact of the cyclone was expected to grow, and that people were on alert.
"I think we are still preparing for the worst since we had another warning this morning," Mr Taridenga said.
"TC Harold is moving east, so it is on a line where we are. Really we are still waiting and we are prepared. People are well informed to start to look for safe centres and safe areas."
Tukatara Tangi, a humanitarian advisor with aid organisation Plan International Australia, said in a statement today that many Pacific countries "are still coming to terms with the risks of COVID-19" as the region braces for its annual cyclone season.
"The Pacific is three to four weeks behind other countries like Australia with the impacts of COVID-19," he said.
"Meanwhile, countries like Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are being hit by Tropical Cyclone Harold — more assistance for the Pacific is required."
So far, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has donated more than $99,000 in immediate emergency funds to the Solomon Islands.
Harold claims five lives from Solomons ferry
Five bodies were recovered on Sunday during the search for 27 people missing from the MV Taimareho, a ferry struck by heavy seas in waters near the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara.
The dead include three women and two men.
Chief Superintendent Richard Menapi, commander of the Police Operation Centre (POC) at the Rove Police Headquarters in Honiara, confirmed the discovery.
"The bodies were discovered by Auki Police, the MV Taimareho, the Police Patrol Boat Gizo and local people who have been assisting in the search," Mr Menapi said.
"On behalf of the Acting Commissioner of Police, I would like to thank everyone who have been involved in the search for the missing 27 people so far as we try as much as possible to find the bodies so their grieving relatives can give them a proper burial."
Arrangements are underway to send a doctor and Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Forensic officers to assist in the identification process.
Topics: cyclone, cyclones, disasters-and-accidents, relief-and-aid-organisations, health, diseases-and-disorders, covid-19, vanuatu, pacific, solomon-islands