Summary:
March 2015: Tropical Cyclone Pam developed in the East of Solomon Islands on 6 March and gained strength as it moved south towards Vanuatu. Heavy rain, strong winds and sea swell, combined with king tides, caused widespread coastal flooding and wind damage.
Pam hit Vanuatu as a Category 5 cyclone.
An Information Bulletin was issued for the Pacific and a DREF Operation was launched for Vanuatu. IFRC FACT was alerted. An International Appeal, consolidating the operations in the five countries, for CHF 5.7 million was launched on 23 March. The appeal aimed to cover affected communities in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands and Kiribati.
April 2015: Relief distribution continued as many of the affected areas are islands located far from the nearest National Society branches and boat transportation is less frequent. Movement Partnership and Planning Meetings were held in Fiji and Vanuatu. Operation Update no. 1 was issued on 10 April.
May 2015: Early recovery assessments commenced. Real-time evaluation (RTE) planning and recruitment process started. Plans of action for the five countries updated based on the assessment findings. This triggered the overall International Appeal revision. Operation Update no. 2 was issued on 15 May.
June 2015: Two Operations Managers were recruited to be based in Vanuatu and Fiji respectively; along with a Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER) Delegate based in Fiji. The International Appeal revision was launched on 19 June, with a budget of CHF 6.8 million. The ongoing development of One Movement Plan and the initiation of a mechanism for Federation-wide monitoring and reporting is initiated.
July 2015: Field delegates have joined the operation and are assigned to Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea. Recovery materials have arrived in Vanuatu and Kiribati with materials due to arrive in Tuvalu in the coming weeks. A consultant has arrived in Vanuatu to guide the further development of the One Movement Plan for Vanuatu Red Cross Society. The RTE team is formed with field visits planned in the second half of July. Additional recovery assessments are ongoing in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.