Authorities in Vanuatu are registering residents who are being evacuated as a result of Monaro volcano erupting on Ambae Island.
So far 6800 people have been relocated by Vanuatu Red Cross and other agencies.
Penama Provincial Government is registering evacuees to keep a track of how many people have been evacuated so far and how many need further assistance.
According to the Red Cross, about 900 people are yet to be evacuated.
There are efforts underway to identify more evacuation centres to accommodate all the people affected.
Red Cross Organizational Development Coordinator, Dickinson Tevi says three members of Red Cross flew to Ambae Island this morning to assist people on the island with wash and hygiene items.
“Red Cross volunteers already on the ground will provide additional support to the new team that arrives on Amabe,” he said.
Teams are travelling with mobile phones that are loaded with the Magpi Data Collection software.
The software will enable the teams to quickly collect assessment data in the evacuation centres while a data base at the Red Cross Headquarters in Vila is being updated in real time as data is entered into the mobile phones.
This detailed assessment will help the Red Cross to have more accurate and timely information about specific needs at each of the evacuation centres.
The information will also be used to help authorities’ better respond to the needs at each centre.
The Council of Ministers has recommended that a State of Emergency be declared for the island of Ambae. This will soon be formally declared by the Head of State.
The vessel RVS Tukoro departed Port Vila yesterday with shelter equipment and Vanuatu Mobile Force personnel.
Vanuatu Red Cross supplies are being utilized for this shipment as well as some donated items from the Ambae community living in Port Vila.
Further shipments by national authorities are planned for the next few days.
Penama Provincial Disaster and Climate Change Committee (PDCCC) is coordinating the movement of people and the management of evacuation centres.
The PDCCC meets daily for morning planning meetings and debriefings in the afternoon.
Sector-based working groups are established to support evacuation centre management.
The number of displaced people is still increasing and they are still moving into safe areas from the danger zones.
A small number of people are voluntarily moving off-island.
The provincial authorities are facing a big challenge with the high number of evacuees and the number of vulnerable people.
There is some overcrowding of evacuation centres from Wednesday 27th September.
The NDMO is working with provincial authorities to confirm the number and location of evacuation facilities and the number of people sheltering in each facility.
Currently there are 14 evacuation centres in the West hosting 3,450 evacuees while in the east there are 21 evacuation centres with 3,350 evacuees.
Vanuatu Red Cross has dispatched 100 tarpaulins and 250 jerrycans to help support the evacuation centres on Ambae.
Authorities are also preparing for the possibility that the eruption could get worse.
If the alert level is raised from four to five, the entire island may have to be evacuated, and authorities are preparing for such a situation while hoping it would never eventuate.
Photo supplied by Vanuatu Red Cross Facebook
