TSF and the United Nations – emergency deployment to Vanuatu

As the Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam approaches the islands of Vanuatu, TSF, supported by European Commission - Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) has deployed emergency response teams from its International Headquarters in Europe and its Regional Base for Asia/Pacific (ROAP) to preposition in Brisbane, Australia, ready to intervene in the direct aftermath of the disaster.

At the demand of the United Nations, Télécoms Sans Frontières will be providing technical communications support to their Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams who will require secure and dependable means to communicate between the 83 islands that make up Vanuatu, situated in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,750km east of Northern Australia.

The eye of the storm hit the country at around 22:00 local time on 13/03/2015 with wind speeds of up to 270km/h putting 49,000 people at risk.

Image courtesy of European Commission / Civil Protection Joint Research Centre

16/03/2015 - TSF and  the European Commission - Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) execute primary phases of emergency operations

As the Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam makes its way out of Ni-Vanuatu territory, Télécoms Sans Frontières, supported by European Commission - Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) is already set up in the capital, Port-Vila and carrying out assessments.

TSF Emergency Response teams from its Regional Base for Asia/Pacific (ROAP) and its Headquarters in Europe arrived in the field on 14th March alongside the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination body (UNDAC) to put in place the primary phases of its deployment.

Telecommunications are currently down across the vast majority of the country and infrastructural damage is hampering coordination amongst populations. The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) is experiencing notable difficulties in receiving and sharing assessment information from the six Provincial Emergency Operational Centres across Vanuatu’s six provinces. TSF is supporting the NDMO's assessment efforts by providing satellite communications technology in order to ensure that its Provincial Centres can forward vital reports and observations to the overseeing national body.

On the 17th March, a team has been transported by helicopter into the province of Tafea where a first a satellite connection has been opened on the island of Tanna, facilitating relief effort coordination capacities.

Over the coming days, TSF will also be operating with the United Nations as well as the NDMO in the provinces of Torba, Sanma, Penama, Malampa and Shefa to carry out its assessments and identify the requirements of the estimated 150,000 affected people spread across Vanuatu's 83 islands.

TSF and ECHO - Reconnecting Vanuatu

You will find via the links bellow the latest TSF Situation Report illustrating our operations

18/03/2015 - Situation Report #1

http://data.tsfi.org/TSF-Sitrep-01-PAM-Vanuatu.pdf

23/03/2015 - Situation Report #2

http://data.tsfi.org/TSF_SitRep_N%C2%B02_230315.pdf

29/03/2015 - Situation Report #3

http://data.tsfi.org/TSF-Sitrep-03-PAM-Vanuatu.pdf

15/04/2015 - One month after cyclone PAM - Field report

http://data.tsfi.org/TSF-Vanuatu-FieldReport-04142015.pdf