The Pacific nation of Vanuatu has been under a state of emergency, after two earthquakes and two cyclones hit in as many days.
Hundreds of people remained in emergency evacuation centres in the capital Port Vila as Tropical Cyclone Kevin brought destructive winds and heavy rainfall.
The Fiji Meteorology Service said wind gusts reached up to 230 kilometres an hour in the early morning hours.
No casualties were immediately reported but a number of properties were flattened and many homes and businesses reported power outages.
The cyclone built to a category 4 on Saturday as it passed the capital and travelled south-east.
Port Vila-based journalist Dan McGarry tweeted updates as both cyclones hit.
"Port Vila has properly woken up now. Fuel is in short supply, power is out everywhere, and a boil-water order is in effect," he tweeted early on Saturday.
"Lots of people at the few hardware stores that were able to open. Some with rather disturbing stories."
— Dan McGarry (@dailypostdan) March 3, 2023
It comes just two days after the country was hit by category 4 Cyclone Judy, that caused widespread damage and flooding.
As the country cleared roads and restored power lines cut by Cyclone Judy, residents were jolted early Friday by twin earthquakes.
"It's crazy, Vanuatu is used to natural disasters, but I think this is the first time it has had two cyclones back to back," said UNICEF's Eric Durpaire.
Authorities have reported no casualties from Cyclone Judy, which tore off roofs, flooded roads and uprooted countless trees.
Disaster response agencies are braced for further damage from Cyclone Kevin and a long recovery ahead.
"It's like a car crash — first there is the big shock, then long-term problems come afterwards," Mr Durpaire said.
Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau announced a state of emergency on Friday.
"After the aerial assessment reports and evaluations on the ground, we will be able to declare the disaster areas in the places that have been severely damaged," he said.
He called on local authorities to "support the communities in their clean-up and prevent the spread of diseases".
Twin earthquakes
No casualties were immediately reported from two earthquakes that struck on Friday morning, but the situation on outlying islands remained unclear.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 90km from Luganville on the island of Espiritu Santo at 5am on Friday morning with a second 5.4 magnitude earthquake 114km from the city at 6.30am.
The island, which has a population of about 40,000, is isolated in parts, and authorities say communication in some areas is limited. But so far no major reports of damage have been reported.
"People on (Espiritu) Santo felt the earthquake, but couldn't go outside to assess the damage because of the high winds," said Dickinson Tevi, secretary general of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society.
"They told me they didn't sleep well as the earthquake hit when they were already awake from the cyclone.
"Medical centres, hospitals and schools will have been affected. Some children may not be able to go to school for weeks, maybe months."
The Fiji Meteorology Service said destructive hurricane force winds gusting to 230km/h would continue to affect the islands of Tafea but were expected to weaken in the next six to 12 hours as the system moved away from Vanuatu.
"All sea-going vessels including boats and small fishing rafts are advised not to go out at sea until the system has completely moved out of the Vanuatu waters," the service warned on it's website.
Vanuatu is in the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide, and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
Story By: ABC/AFP
Original Story Link:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-04/vanuatu-hit-by-two-quakes-two-cyclones-in-two-days/102053752
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