Earthquake-stricken Vanuatu needs help and assistance in tourism

On Port Vila's waterfront, a lone Christmas tree stands out among the red-flowered poincianas lining the street.

Standing on the overgrown grass, with faded ornaments, his presence long after the holiday is a reminder of Vanuatu's lost holiday season.

It has now been a month since the violent 7.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the Pacific nation, collapsing buildings, killing at least 14 people and injuring many others.

Hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders were among the tourists who were quickly deported.

The Vanuatu people who remained are still shining their diaspora.

The Central Business District, the beating heart of the capital, remains off-limits to locals and tourists alike, except for business owners who have permission to arrange or collect property.

There is no life in the streets, although the Christmas decorations remain up, a sad reminder of what is supposed to be a joyful time.

At least 16 people have died after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific island nation on Tuesday. (Source: 1 News)

“That tree, it's really sad,” Ivan Oswald, the Australian-born owner of the Nambawan Cafe in the city centre, told AAP.

Structural assessments have yet to be carried out on hundreds of buildings in the area, as the government has banned entry for public safety.

No one knows how long the blockade will last, which frustrates business owners.

In an interview with AAP, John Ezra, the government's recovery official, agreed it would take “months.” Others are more pessimistic.

“It will probably take years,” one CBD business owner tells AAP as they pack items from their fashion store on the deserted main strip.

The economic hit to the sleepy CBD is evident, with hundreds left unemployed and unable to trade.

Efforts are focusing on finding survivors while others work to restore shattered facilities on the Pacific island. (Source: 1 News)

Farmers have also lost the main market in the city and need to find new routes to customers quickly. Those who can work from home or find new ways to work.

Just south of the CBD, the country's main pier is also inoperable due to structural concerns and a massive landslide blocking the access road.

Each of these problems has a solution, but much of the technical equipment and expertise required is located offshore.

Ezra says a formal request has been submitted to key development partners.

“We would like Australia to assist us in completing the structural assessment, we would like New Zealand to support us in demolishing the identified structures… and we would like Japan to assist us in carrying out a geotechnological survey, especially in the harbour.” Villa area,” he said.

The dock presents a particularly difficult problem because it is difficult to bring in the necessary equipment while it remains out of service. It also means that cruise ships, which bring thousands of tourists, will bypass Port Vila for the time being.

Pacific correspondent Barbara Drever reported that researchers are racing against time to find survivors under the rubble. (Source: Iftar)

The real impact of the earthquake came not only from its already massive magnitude, but from its shallow epicenter to the west of Port Vila.

Of course, Vanuatu is no stranger to major disasters.

Active volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes are part of the mix that makes the Melanesian nation the most disaster-prone nation on Earth.

Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 cyclone that swept across vast swaths of the archipelago in 2015, destroyed more than half of the country's economic output.

More recently, Hurricanes Lola and Kevin will make landfall as Category 4 storms across the Northern Islands in 2023.

Oswald said it was the sudden nature of the earthquake that made it difficult to deal with.

“Hurricanes are easy for us. We do it all the time. If you lose a building or a house, in general, you're either unlucky or unprepared,” he said.

Landslide near an international shipping terminal in Port Vila, Vanuatu. (Source: Dan McGarry via AP)

“The next day, you go back to clearing the roads, preparing the airport, making sure the aid planes arrive, cleaning up and getting back to work.

“This, this is really hard.”

Dickinson Tawa, the country's Red Cross director, agreed.

“The cyclone starts slowly. You know it's coming a couple of days in advance, you get alerts and it gives you some time to prepare,” he told AAP.

“It's not that simple. Suddenly, you're in for a disaster.”

The full picture of the devastation that occurred may not be clear, since many villages did not ask for help, especially in light of the communications vacuum that immediately followed the tragedy.

Anyway, the Red Cross tried to find them.

“How to trace those most affected is not that simple,” Tawa said. “You don’t know who is affected and where.”

“Some peri-urban areas are still without water and electricity, and we are still discovering communities without water.”

In addition to unemployment, which will lead to higher levels of crime, the upcoming school year presents another pressing problem.

Many school buildings are clearly unstable, with UNICEF stepping in to provide alternative accommodation for 4,000 students ahead of the first term, starting in two weeks.

“We provide what we call temporary learning spaces made of good quality tents, which are usually used for six months,” UNICEF country director Eric Dorber told AAP.

“One of the most important things is to get back to a sense of normalcy, and that is getting kids back to school.”

Given the tourism-dependent economy, Vanuatu authorities are also desperate for holidaymakers to continue arriving by air, with bookings plummeting in the wake of the disaster.

“The cruise ships scheduled for January, which were on their way to Port Vila, were redirected to Mestre Island and Santo, so this provided some relief,” said Tourism Ministry head Paul Pio.

“We are doing our best to manage our international reputation. Unfortunately, many of the testimonials have been reported to the international media, which has made tourists think again about whether to come or not.

“Our message is: Don’t cancel Vanuatu just yet…Vanuatu remains open for business.”

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