State of Emergency extended

Hundreds of people remain in emergency evacuation centres in the capital Port Vila as Tropical Cyclone Kevin brought destructive winds and heavy rainfall.

ABC Pacific Vanuatu's Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau said he was grateful for the assistance.

"With the generosity of the Australian government, we've undertaken a surveillance flight over Port Vila, Eramango and Tanna," he said.

"Suffice to say it's a very sad state of affairs."

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that although infection were falling they remained high, and that some hospitals were still under strain

Restriction will be in place until 19 June, five weeks before the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics are due to start.

Organisers said they would wait until the emergency ends on 20 June to decide whether to allow local fans to attend.

Overseas fans have already been barred.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that the Council of Ministers approved for the SOE, which had been due to end on Monday, to be extended for another 30 days.

Cabinet's decision followed a request from the National Disaster Management Office for an extension.

Cyclone Harold hit Vanuatu as a category five storm a month ago, but the delivery of relief to affected communities had only gathered pace recently due to restrictions on travel as part of the pandemic response, as well as damaged infrastructure.