Tropical Cyclone Ivy cut a swathe through the centre of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu on Thursday, tearing down homes, ripping out trees and cutting communications with winds of up to 190kph.
Two Taiwanese fishing boats in the harbour of the capital, Port Vila, were driven ashore by pounding seas and winds as the storm center barrelled across the city of 12 000, said National Disaster Management Office director Job Esau.
Houses were destroyed by the hurricane-force winds as flooding and surging seas inundated low-lying areas after torrential rains swept through the area at the peak of the storm.
Police evacuated more than 1 000 people to shelters from flood-prone areas before the storm hit, Esau said in a telephone interview.
By mid-evening, the storm was weakening as it moved away from the nation’s southern islands.
Although sea conditions remained very rough, ”we are not expecting further major problems from this storm”, Esau said.
Preliminary reports showed homes, gardens, fruit trees and palms had been wrecked.
”But there are no fatalities, no casualties reported and nobody missing at this stage,” Esau said from the capital. The storm had ”not been as strong as we had feared, but it has caused a lot of damage to many houses”, he added.
The storm had cut communications with the northern islands, where it first struck, said Disaster Management Office spokesperson John Henry.
Most businesses were shut and several domestic flights were grounded.
Vanuatu, a nation of 200 000, comprises 80 thinly populated, volcanic islands near the equator, 2 250km northeast of Sydney, Australia.
Formerly known as the New Hebrides, Vanuatu gained independence from Britain and France in 1980 after 74 years of joint colonial rule. — Sapa-AP