A WHOLE evacuation operation is under way on the island of Ambae since August 3, where families have to leave their home to seek a second home on the neighbouring island of Maewo, designated by the Government, while others chose to settle on the island of Santo.
Vanuatu Red Cross Society said soon it will deploy its teams of staff and Volunteers to Maewo, to assist the displaced families from Ambae by building additional shelters.
“The VRCS proposed plan puts emphasis on Shelter, and our emergency response plan is to build additional shelters by using tarpaulins that were already distributed to beneficiaries; also we will be doing awareness on shelter,” said Augustin Garae, Disaster Management Coordinator at Vanuatu Red Cross.
VRCS works alongside with partners like Shelter Cluster and National Disaster Management Office to provide assistance to Ambaean families who fled their home to seek a safer place on the island of Maewo.
Around 30 Red Cross Volunteers from Sanma province, Ambae and Maewo branches will soon deploy on Maewo.
“Next week, a team will be on Maewo Island to do two days’ assessments on resettlements proposed sites, visit host families, before we can deploy our volunteers on the ground.
“Our plan is to build shelters at the Hosts communities, which means, it can be a sleeping room, a kitchen, or storage room, or a shelter for meeting or rest place for the family,” said Garae.
On the ground, VRCS will liaise with Community Disaster Climate Change Committee-CDCCC, area council’s secretaries, Provincial Government authorities and Communities.
“Families, vehicles are now leaving Ambae, but Red Cross Vehicle is still on Ambae, assisting Police, to transport people with special needs from their homes to the port of embarkation.”
Around 10,112 people were on the island after returning from mass evacuation on September 2017 to Santo.
On 26 July the Government of Vanuatu announced an extended state of emergency and the compulsory evacuation of the population of Ambae.
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