ADB ready to extend assistance to Vanuatu after tropical cyclone Pam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday it is preparing initial assistance to support the government and people of Vanuatu after tropical cyclone Pam caused deaths and widespread damage across the country over the weekend.

"I offer my deepest condolences to the people of Vanuatu for the devastation caused by tropical cyclone Pam," ADB President Takehiko Nakao said in a letter to Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale.

"ADB stands ready to help Vanuatu's post-cyclone recovery and reconstruction."

Tropical Cyclone Pam also caused damage in some neighboring countries in the region including Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Solomon Islands.

Nakao pledged ADB's full support to all countries affected by the cyclone, both in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and in subsequent rehabilitation and reconstruction work.

The Manila-based lending bank's initial package of assistance amounting to 5 million U.S. dollars will come from its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund and other fund sources for relief and initial reconstruction work in Vanuatu.

ADB will work with the government of Vanuatu and other development partners to conduct an immediate needs assessment to identify and agree on the most urgent and important assistance required.

The government of Vanuatu has declared a state of emergency for Shefa province, which takes in the country's capital Port Vila on Efate Island, as relief workers assess the damage caused by Pam.

Initial estimates have indicated that up to 90 percent of structures were either damaged or destroyed on Efate. Endi