Tropical Cyclone Judy hit the archipelago of Vanuatu on 1 March 2023, followed by Tropical Cyclone Kevin just two days later. The Category 4 cyclones affected about 66 per cent of the total population, causing significant damage due to wind, heavy rains, flooding and storm surge. After their passage, the government commissioned a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) to analyse the impact on the people and economy and to devise a recovery plan to transition the country back on its development pathway.
The PDNA was conducted under the leadership and guidance of the Office of the Prime Minister; the Department of Strategic Planning, Policy and Aid Coordination; and the Recovery Operations Centre. Support was provided by several entities, including the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the European Union and UN agencies.
The purpose of the PDNA was to identify the damage and loss caused by the cyclones across all sectors, to assess the macro-economic and human impact of these disasters, to estimate the recovery needs in all sectors, and to inform Vanuatu’s short-, medium- and long-term recovery and reconstruction process through a Recovery Plan aligned to the country’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2016-2030.
The assessment estimated the total effects (damage and loss) to amount to some 51.2 billion (VUV) or US$ 433 million. Total recovery needs were estimated to be VUV 91.6 billion or US$ 773 million.
The ILO contributed to the joint assessment through its Joint Programme on “Advancing the SDGs by improving livelihoods and resilience via economic diversification and digital transformation” by analysing the consequences of the disaster on the Employment and Livelihoods Sector. In this sector, an estimated 38,764 people were affected by the twin cyclones, of which 67 per cent were workers in the informal economy, and 9,691 were self-employed, of which 45 per cent were women micro entrepreneurs. It is estimated that, collectively, they lost 484,550 work days.
Publication Details: https://www.ilo.org/media/362356/download
Originally published by ILO
Note:
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