Category 5 Cyclone Pam dangerously close to Vanuatu

[The Kap'n]

This is awful. My heart goes out to the Ni-Vanuatu. Vanuatu is the last place on earth that needs a cat 5 cyclone stomping on them.

 

[kavadude]

This is so awful. I went to New Orleans after Katrina, but given Vanuatu's reliance on thrown together buildings, there's no way it's not going to destroy most everyones homes and businesses.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Damn, it's lookin' like that storm is literally stalking Vanuatu. I was hoping it would turn out to be a miss, I mean, all that open ocean and these little specs are catching it dead on. wtf

 

[kavadude]

Damn, it's lookin' like that storm is literally stalking Vanuatu. I was hoping it would turn out to be a miss, I mean, all that open ocean and these little specs are catching it dead on. wtf

They can actually attract hurricanes. Not sure how much this research applies to islands in the Pacific: http://www.insidescience.org/content/cities-attract-hurricanes/1138

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Yeah, I didn't think the relatively insignificant size and heat radiation of such tiny islands could have any attraction to a storm of that size...but it seriously looks like it took aim for it.

 

[blindy107]

Yeah it's a wild natural occurrence. Well let's hope they make it through safely.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

This is terrible. Port Vila is practically in the eye of the cyclone. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...shes-vanuatu-with-direct-hit-as-a-category-5/

 

[Steve Mariotti]

My god, this is awful. Those poor people. They're going to need blood. Does anyone know if the red cross is raising funds for a mission there?

 

[kavadude]

These guys are covering some of it. https://twitter.com/iCyclone

 

[verticity]

It looks like a direct hit on Erromango. Population ~ 2000. Apparently there are a lot of caves on the island that have historically been used as shelter from cyclones, hopefully people can stay safe in them.
It looks bad for Tanna Island - pop. 29000 - home of the Prince Phillip Movement.
This is just very sad.
@Steve Mariotti - they may well need blood and other things, but probably the best way we can help from the other side of the world is to give money. Henry and I have listed some organizations in the thread above that have put out press releases saying they are involved in the relief effort. I'm not really sure which of them is the "best" to give to, though.

 

[verticity]

Here's the whole list of aid orgs, there may be others.
@Kapmcrunk maybe these could be added to a separate sticky post, or somehow pinned to the beginning of this post, to be periodically updated when we learn more about which organizations are most directly involved.

UNICEF
Australian Red Cross
Vanuatu Red Cross
ShelterBox New Zealand
New Zealand Red Cross
World Vision
Oxfam
Care Vanuatu

 

[Steve Mariotti]

Here's the Pacific Disaster Fund page for the NZ Red Cross.

https://www.redcross.org.nz/donate/pacific-disaster-fund/

Given the trajectory of the cyclone, who's likely to mobilize soonest? Brisbane and Auckland are about equidistant from Vanuatu. Probably relief coming out of Aus unless the cyclone bears southwest.

 

[Grant Moore]

Oh goodness. I can only pray and hope for all those being affected.

 

[kavadude]

Here's the whole list of aid orgs, there may be others.

If you're willing to create a thread with relief details, I'll sticky it and we can keep discussion/news in this one.

 

[verticity]

Just for perspective, here's a video of Odile, a category 4 hurricane in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, 2014:

That's terrifying. Now imagine instead of being in a large building, you live in a straw hut.

 

[kavadude]

I've been through hurricanes. It's fucking terrifying to wake up to fallen trees everywhere, including one very close near miss. I can't imagine doing it in a building that cannot withstand hurricane force winds.

I saw one shelter on the internet, built out of concrete and mattresses. I'm guessing they don't anywhere near the capacity they needed.

 

[verticity]

If you're willing to create a thread with relief details, I'll sticky it and we can keep discussion/news in this one.

Thread created.