Cyclone Hola

Teams sent to carry out assessments in the worst affected communities returned to the capital over the weekend and a detailed operation plan is now being finalised for government approval.

The operations manager of the National Disaster Management Office, Peter Korisa, said he wanted to see supplies reaching people by the end of the week.

"In this type of country like Vanuatu, people are already vulnerable so whenever there is such impact or such a shock to the community definitely it will push them down," he said.

Over a thousand homes have been completely destroyed and another thousand partly damaged in central and northern Malekula when Hola hit nearly three weeks ago.

Abelson Abel from the NDMO at Lakatoro said that despite detailed assessments being completed, people are frustrated at the lack of practical help.

Mr Abel said the only aid they have seen is tarpaulins to help fifty households, but it is not enough.

He said people are trying to repair their homes as best they can, but they are hungry and angry about waiting so long for help.

The latest National Disaster Management Office report said a more detailed picture of damage from Tropical Cyclone Hola was emerging.

Information from aerial assessments and on-ground reports showed central, northeast and northwest Malekula and north Ambrym were the most affected areas.

Underground water catchments and water supply systems were unsafe, some homes had been damaged, crops of bananas, taro, manioc, and other fruit trees had been destroyed.

This was the outcome of the latest disaster co-ordination meeting between the government and other stake-holders this afternoon in the capital Port Vila.

Islands in the northern and central parts of the country bore the brunt of Cyclone Hola, which got up to category three strength before leaving Vanuatu, with initial assessments showing widespread damage to infrastructure, houses and crops.

An aerial survey of affected areas conducted on Sunday showed widespread damage to food gardens, homes and infrastructure.

But the operations manager of the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office, Peter Korisa, said the way in which Hola impacted the islands made it difficult to coordinate the relief effort.

"The impact is quite unique because within an island it only covers several locations. It did not cover the whole island," he said.

The cyclone, which caused damage in Vanuatu's northern islands, re-intensified into a category 3 overnight, with sustained winds of about 150km/h at its centre.

At 6 o'clock this morning, local time, (8am NZT) Hola was about 90 kilometres northeast of Lifou, and is expected to pass close to the island of Mare today.

On Mare, electricity supplies have already been cut off and winds in excess of 100 km/h have been reported as well as swells of six to eight metres.

On the main island, well to the west of the cyclone, as much as 200mm of rain was recorded overnight.

It has declared a level two alert to apply in Ouvea at 4pm (New Zealand time) and in Mare at 7pm.

The cyclone weakened earlier today to a category three as it moved away from Vanuatu.

And while it is more than 300 kilometres from Vanuatu, it is still bringing gale force winds, thunderstorms and a threat of flooding.

Forecasters said the cyclone is likely to weaken further later today.

Meanwhile, people in the Loyalty Island group have been preparing for the arrival of Hola.

The NDMO's Peter Korisa said information remained sketchy and incomplete and he said his organisation had been trying hard to make contact with communities and area councils in the provinces.

He said the weather was still bad in the affected parts of Vanuatu but he hoped it would clear up enough tomorrow to begin an aerial surveillance operation that could take up to a week.

He said he met with several humanitarian agencies yesterday some of whom have relief supplies stored in Port Vila which could be used to respond to the disaster.

As it moves south west from Vanuatu's Malekula Hola is intensifying and forecasters say sustained winds of up to 165 kilometres should be expected.

They could increase to 203 kilometres an hour.

It is expected to move to the south east later and pose a threat for New Caledonia.

The Vanuatu weather office said damaging gale force winds of 75 kilometres an hour will continue through today to affect Malampa province while destructive storm force winds of 130 kilometres gusting to 160 kilometres are forecast over the next 24 hours.

The Vanuatu Meteorological and Geohazards Department said winds gusting up to 160 km/hr were expected to hit Pentecost, Ambrym, Malekula, Paama, Epi and the Shepards group.

The Tropical Cyclone currently remains at category two but this may increase over the next 12 to 18 hours as it moves west southwest at 6km/hr.

It is currently 20 kilometres southeast of Ambrym with sustained winds close to the centre estimated at 95km/hr.