Call for Vanuatu disaster officials to resign in aftermath of tsunami warning

The former deputy prime minister of Vanuatu, Jotham Napat, has called on top disaster officials to resign over the lack of immediate tsunami warnings last week.

Napat said the Director General of the Ministry of Climate Change and the Director of the National Disaster Management Office should quit because of their incompetency.

He said the impacts of last week's tsunami warning could have been worse as the issuing of an advisory message was released an hour late.

He said it was the third time the disaster authorities have issued late advisory messages on tsunami and Napat believed it was putting people lives in danger.

Napat said people on Tanna experienced waves of a metre in height, but despite this the Disaster Management Office issued advisory messages after the threat had passed.

The Tanna MP said in Port Vila some people moved to safer sites while there was no longer a threat.

Meanwhile at Mele village, the celebration of National Chiefs day went ahead despite the village of over 5000 being situated in a tsunami danger zone.

They said the tsunami warning sirens installed by the NDMO were not working.