cyclone

As Oxfam leaders from across the world, attending our annual board meetings in Kenya, we send our solidarity to the people of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi whose lives have been devastated by cyclone Idai. Our hearts go out to the families of those who have perished, and the more than 2.6 million people who have been robbed of precious livelihoods, homes and lands. Many of these people were already struggling to make ends meet and living in communities with fragile infrastructures such as roads, water and power. 

Access to clean water and sanitation will be one of the greatest needs in Fiji’s Tropical Cyclone Winston response, and must be prioritised, Oxfam said today. Clean water for drinking and hand washing is essential for the prevention of waterborne diseases after a disaster.

The Fijian Government is still trying to contact areas that haven’t been heard from since being struck by Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston on the weekend. Oxfam in the Pacific Regional Director Raijeli Nicole said communication blackspots were making it very hard to assess damage and determine the scale of the response required.

As the scale of devastation wrought by Cyclone Winston in Fiji becomes apparent today, Oxfam is preparing to deploy staff to assist if needed.

A rare cyclone has left conflict ravaged Yemen facing a double disaster as Cyclone Chapala promises a decade-worth of rain in Yemen in just a few days.

One month after Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, water remains a high priority, with small islands dependent on rainwater most in need, Oxfam said today.

Oxfam's reaction on the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, a global plan that’s meant to build the resilience of communities to disasters over the next 15 years and lead to bolder commitments on disaster risk reduction,

Two rapid assessment teams have arrived in the two small southern Vanuatu islands hit hardest by Cyclone Pam to rapidly assess exactly what survivors of the disaster need.

Up to 90 per cent of housing in Vanuatu's capital reported to have been seriously damaged by Cyclone Pam, with still no information from the extremely vulnerable outer islands which are home to 33,000 people.