Vanuatu Red Cross is well prepared and ready to respond to the needs of those most affected by Tropical Cyclone Donna. We have 300 volunteers on standby throughout the country, many of whom have been trained on Emergency Response Teams (ERT).
Once assessments have been done we are ready to distribute emergency relief items such has tarpaulins, water containers, kitchen sets, shelter kits and hygiene kits.
We have cleaned the water tanks at six evacuation centers on Efate including three in Port Vila and have added chlorine to the water to make it safe to drink.
An emergency operations center and response team have been set up at Vanuatu Red Cross headquarters and we have pre-positioned stocks in six branches throughout the country.
The Red Cross is working closely with the government and other partners to ensure the response is coordinated and is taking part in daily briefings at the NDMO.
Vanuatu Red Cross has taken the lessons learned during Cyclone Pam two years ago and has increased its disaster management capacity. We are closely monitoring the situation and ask the public to listen to the radio for updates and look out for text messages from NDMO and Meteo.
We ask people wanting to help to donate cash rather than goods so we can better target the needs of the most affected communities.