Introduction
On 17 December 2024, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Port Vila, Vanuatu which triggered devastating landslides, building collapses and damage to critical infrastructure with frequent aftershocks, affecting an estimated 80,000 people.
As part of the Australian Government’s $7 million humanitarian assistance package, Australia Assists deployed a two-person Rapid Response Team (RRT) from Australia within 48 hours of Vanuatu’s formal request for assistance. The RRT’s role was to provide direct support to the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office’s (NDMO’s) humanitarian response and coordination efforts, particularly in planning and information management.
Locally led action, locally led response
Vanuatu is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. In recent years, it has experienced a catastrophic earthquake (December 2024), and Tropical cyclones Lola (October 2023), Judy and Kevin (March 2023).
Vanuatu has a wealth of experience in managing large-scale disasters. Acknowledging this, the RRT ensured the response remained locally led and locally owned, respecting and supporting ni-Vanuatu ways of working.
Focused on what the NDMO wanted to achieve, the RRT took a ‘learning-by-doing’ capacity strengthening approach. They helped elevate the quality of Vanuatu NDMO’s response by asking the right types of questions and testing assumptions.
‘It’s that emotional intelligence, the ability to read a room, and try to work in the tempo of what they’re doing… They’ve got their ways of working and it’s for us to fit into that, not the other way around. So being able to read the room and understanding how best you can work with them in that is important,’ said Barnaby.
‘When drafting the Damage Assessment Report, we were transparent with the NDMO staff on what outcomes the report was intended to deliver and worked together to structure and gather the information to deliver this. They were able to develop a better understanding by being part of the process, which improved quality and capacity.’
‘It’s that emotional intelligence, the ability to read a room, and try to work in the tempo of what they’re doing… They’ve got their ways of working and it’s for us to fit into that, not the other way around. So being able to read the room and understanding how best you can work with them in that is important’
Cutting through the noise
During a large-scale humanitarian response, every moment counts. Well-organised information and effective systems and ways of working are critical in delivering a timely, effective and coordinated humanitarian response. However, these are some of the biggest challenges in responding to a humanitarian disaster.
Brenda, NDMOS’ Shefa Provincial Disaster Officer and Information Management Lead for Vanuatu’s earthquake response, acknowledged the value of Australia’s surge support to Vanuatu: ‘The NDMO is short-staffed. Even me – this is not my standard role – I shifted into this role for the response, and I did this for Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin [March 2023] too,’ said Brenda.
‘Responding to this disaster, which had a lot of damage – surge capacity really helped us. Everyone in the NDMO was busy because everybody already had an allocated role. Without them [RRT] it would have been a lot harder, they really helped fill a gap’.
Peter, RRT member, reflected on his role supporting the NDMO at the operational and tactical level: ‘I was able to contribute an additional set of hands – like collecting information, writing products and managing emails. I also took on ad-hoc tasks assigned to the Information Management team, which helped free the workload from NDMO staff,’ said Peter.
For Brenda, this proved invaluable: ‘Whenever there was a briefing, Peter was by my side. He would always check in with me, before sending out emails for my approval and he always double-checked to ensure what he was doing was correct… When he saw my workload was too much, he would ask me what I needed. With his help, the acting director and operations managers were grateful with what we were able to provide.’
‘Responding to this disaster, which had a lot of damage – surge capacity really helped us. Everyone in the NDMO was busy because everybody already had an allocated role. Without them [RRT] it would have been a lot harder, they really helped fill a gap’
Road to recovery
The RRT deployed for 13 days, demobilising shortly after Vanuatu lifted its State of Emergency. The country transitioned into its recovery and rebuilding phase with the Vanuatu Recovery Operations Centre estimating the cost of recovery to exceed VT 29billion ($370 million) over two years.
While the RRT deployment was the first of its kind in the current phase of Australia Assists, the program continues to support Vanuatu through long-term deployments within the Vanuatu NDMO. This also includes exploring how the program can support Vanuatu in its long-term recovery through consultations with the Vanuatu Government.
Disclaimer: The information and views published here are the individual’s own and do not necessarily represent the partner organisation, Australia Assists or the Australian Government’s views, positions or opinions.