| Vanuatu cyclone | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 15 2015, 07:58 PM (1,341 Views) | |
| Caro | Mar 15 2015, 07:58 PM Post #1 |
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The little archipelago of Vanuatu has been hit by one of the strongest cyclones to hit the Pacific, and the damage is immense. With so many outer islands the death toll and damage can't be properly assessed yet. We heard last Friday from a NZer who was shifting out of his house to a stronger motel; today we heard from him again - the motel unit was badly damaged and they had to flee to the next door one which then housed 12 people with one double bed and one single. I don't suppose people were sleeping much. Meantime his little house was barely damaged and the solar panels were intact, fortunate since there is no electricity where they live. NZ has pledged 2 and a half million dollars, but this presumably is just a start. The cyclone has now come to the east coast of NZ. The category 5 storm was sending winds of 270kms to Vanuatu but I heard the weather forecasts up north talking of wind gusts of up to 130kms which is still pretty strong. I spent a day in Vanuatu on a cruise once, and liked it - it is poor and infrastructure is primitive, but the people were very friendly (the kids waved to my bus whenever we went past them) and it just had a nice feel (though a very hot feel - I wondered why I seemed to be crying but realised it was just sweat pouring down my face). My daughter-in-law spent a week on holiday there in 2000 and liked it too, but she was amazed at the lifestyle, with women doing their washing and bathing in rivers and streams. I seem to remember everything was both French and English (it is possibly I am misremembering that, and it was Noumea with this setup) so there was a French part of the school alongside an English one; similarly with hospitals and churches etc. We have had an email from our Labour leader asking us to donate to the Red Cross. I hope it is genuine. Edited by Caro, Mar 15 2015, 08:05 PM.
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| caissier | Mar 15 2015, 08:50 PM Post #2 |
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Frightening. Maybe if a storm of that ferocity struck a centre of population in the developed world it might get through to leaders they really ought to do something effective to save the world and humanity from climate disruption. The Governor of Florida has forbidden state employees from referring to it. If this continues and spreads big areas will start to look like one of those windy, barren planets where life is not possible.
Edited by caissier, Mar 15 2015, 08:56 PM.
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| waiting4atickle | Mar 19 2015, 11:39 PM Post #3 |
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Barren? Water-logged more like. Still, there's plenty of life in the ocean. |
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| caissier | Mar 22 2015, 02:29 PM Post #4 |
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We-ell, this is what I was thinking of ..... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/world-could-face-water-40-per-cent-shortfall-in-just-15-years-un-report-warns-10122857.html ..... due to climate change. A call to politicians to do something. They'll probably be thinking how they can use it to serve their own - national - interests. |
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| Mobson | May 27 2015, 03:12 PM Post #5 |
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i'm constantly getting request texts for help with money to aid these awful tragedies around the world from Oxfam and other charities which must share info...one can only do so much however one wants to help ... |
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