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New Zealand air force flies Vanuatu PM to cyclone-stricken island

Xinhua, March 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The New Zealand air force has flown Vanuatu Prime Minister Joe Natuman to Tanna Island, one of the islands worst hit by Tropical Cyclone Pam, to assess damage and deliver relief supplies, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Wednesday.

"Tanna Island is about 230 km to the south of Port Vila and early aerial surveillance shows a large number of buildings have been completely or partly destroyed by Cyclone Pam," McCully said in a statement.

"Getting relief supplies to the outer islands is an urgent task. On board this flight were NZDF (New Zealand Defense Force) personnel, a Red Cross team, and almost 7 tons of relief supplies, including tarpaulins, 100 toolkits, six chainsaw packs and four generators."

The New Zealand government was considering further options to assist the people and government of Vanuatu to recover from the cyclone, which killed 24 people and left thousands homeless.

New Zealand had so far given 2.5 million NZ dollars (1.82 million U.S. dollars) and provided a number of air force flights as part of its assistance. Endi