TC Harold Relief & Recovery 2020

Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold was a very powerful tropical cyclone which caused widespread destruction in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga during April 2020. It was the first Category 5 tropical cyclone in 2020.

On 6th April 2020, TC Harold made landfall in Vanuatu as a category 5 cyclone (lowest pressure recorded was 920hp and sustained windspeed of 270km/hr), causing widespread destruction across Sanma, Penama, Malampa Provinces as well as the northern islands of Shefa Province.

Port of Call Vanuatu was the only yacht agency physically on the ground during this time. As a yacht agency we spend a good part of our time interacting with communities in the outer islands and a great deal of our friends were affected by TC Harold, most lost their homes, food crops and access to safe clean drinking water. With the help of many wonderful associations, friends, and yacht NGO groups we set to work to assist where we could in whatever way we could.

With Covid-19 in the mix things have been extremely complicated but we are very grateful to everyone for their support, patience and understanding as we slowly progressed through the relief to the recovery periods post TC Harold.

With a lot of generous donations channeled and supported through SEAMERCY (Fiji) (Yacht Help, beyond Disaster Relief, Denarau Marina). With the help of a few volunteers, Big Heart Island Vanuatu, and Santo Sunset Environmental Network we were able to supply clean drinking water to many communities, especially those who had been forgotten by the larger NGO groups and were on the outskirts of the ‘disaster zone. It has been humbling to revisit these communities and find that the water-filters have changed habits and lives, improving the health of communities.. everyone deserves to have access to drink clean water.

John Hembrow from The Downunder Rally set up a Go Fund Me page to fundraise for the rebuild of a nakamal in Waterfall Bay, Pentecost and supply of water tanks and thatch for Bunlap Village in SE Pentecost.. Pentecost Island lost most of their dwellings and nakamals (chiefs meeting place)and a request was made to us by the chiefs from various villages to assist them with rebuilding their nakamals, in order to ‘put the heart back into the communities’

We have also worked with private donors to send fuel and supplies to communities on the West Coast of Santo as an emergency immediate response to the needs post TC Harold. This enabled people to travel to pick up points to collect food and other supplies needed to survive the initial weeks post cyclone.

Another private donor has generously supported the rebuild of two traditional non-govt primary schools on the West Coast of Santo. Together we have supplied enough thatch to rebuild at least two classes at each school, teaching aids/text books and 120 school bags and stationary to the children who have not been able to attend their classes since April 2020. It is our mission to get these schools ready by February so that the classes can resume in 2021.

Almost a year on and the recovery continues… but we at Port of Call Vanuatu would like to thank everyone for their assistance. in addition to the above mentioned groups we would like to send out a big thank you to all the support we received from other small ngos, our friends and family and especially our amazing team of ladies from Amare, Fruit of the pacific, Noumea Ocean who worked tirelessly in the midst of madness to support us and be our voice (and sanity) during the most difficult times - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Tankyu Tumas