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Cyclone Yasa landfall in Fiji yesterday, carrying destructive winds of up to 345km/h, heavy rain and storm swells, has flattened homes and left major devastation to roads, and vegetation. More than 600,000 people in the South Pacific island nation are now affected, thousands of which are already in evacuation centers as the tropical storm disrupted access to essential utilities including water supply and sanitation facilities, as well as food.

Stories of complete devastation are beginning to come out of Vanuatu in the aftermath of the severe tropical cyclone Pam.Oxfam staff on the ground in Port Vila have reported complete destruction of homes, three story high trees completely uprooted and small communities with barely any houses left standing. Oxfam's Vanuatu Country Director Colin Collett van Rooyen said people in Vanuatu had told him they had never seen a…

As the G5 leaders meet at the Sahel Summit in France on 13 January 2020 to discuss their military response to the Sahel conflict, Oxfam and partners warn of insufficient humanitarian aid and protection of civilians.

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.

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

Aid should today begin to reach the hard hit southern Vanuatu islands of Tanna and Erromango, which both took the full force of the 250kmh Cyclone Pam, after rapid assessments of the islands showed absolute devastation with entire villages destroyed.

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. 

Vanuatu could face a second emergency with waterborne disease a real risk if the need for clean water, sanitation and hygiene is not met, Oxfam said today. 

Oxfam is warning that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will not be contained unless more is done to prevent new infections.