14 December 2012

Red Cross ready to respond to Tropical Cyclone Evan

New Zealand Red Cross has personnel and equipment on standby in Auckland ready to head to Samoa in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Evan.

The cyclone, which intensified to category 3 overnight, has caused serious damage in Apia.

Samoan Red Cross has teams of well-resourced and well-trained disaster response volunteers, who will be assessing the damage as soon as the weather clears.

Samoan Red Cross also has a central warehouse and six depots around Samoa, which are fully stocked with non-food items such as tarpaulins, first aid kits, water containers and kitchen sets, which volunteers will distribute as soon as they are able to get out and about.

New Zealand Red Cross international operations and emergencies manager Andrew McKie says New Zealand Red Cross is ready to respond if Samoa requests assistance.

“We are working with the MFAT emergency task force to ensure any response is coordinated. We are also monitoring other Pacific Islands and are in contact with our partner national societies there,” Mr McKie says.

“We are asking people not to donate goods. If people want to help they’ll be able to donate later today on www.redcross.org.nz.”

Cyclone Evan is forecast to intensify to a Category 4, and is expected to near Fiji on Sunday or Monday.

ENDS

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