By PETER DOUGLAS
YARRA Ranges mayor Maria McCarthy is still awaiting news on whether her close friends in Vanuatu have survived Cyclone Pam.
Cr McCarthy owns a property in Vanuatu and, over the years, has developed many close acquaintances in the region.
Large parts of Vanuatu have been devastated after Cyclone Pam battered the country, with the death toll last reported at 24.
Cr McCarthy said it was a distressing time for her family.
“We really don’t know anything at this stage, there are no communications whatsoever,” Cr McCarthy said.
“There’s a village nearby where we have many friends and we don’t know if they are OK.”
Cr McCarthy said she had no indication about whether her property survived the cyclone.
While the precise damage estimate in Vanuatu is not yet known, the country’s president, Baldwin Lonsdale, has said the key infrastructure is non-existent.
The Australian Government is in the processes of mounting an aid response.
Cr McCarthy has urged the region to support the Red Cross Cyclone Pam (Vanuatu) appeal.
For more details visit redcross.org.au
