The storm remains as a category-five system, the highest classification, and has moved east of Vanuatu. Nasa A deadly Pacific cyclone intensified as it hit Vanuatu on Monday, threatening a natural disaster that experts fear will undermine the impoverished nation’s battle to remain coronavirus-free. It was first noted as a developing tropical low within a trough of low pressure during April 1, while it was located to the east of Papua New Guinea. Tropical Cyclone Harold strengthened to a category 4 system early this morning as it heads to northern Vanuatu, with the latest tracking map indicating it will be a monster category 5 storm. Low-lying islands in the South-west Pacific Ocean are counting the human and economic toll of Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold, which destroyed key infrastructure and highlighted the challenges of disaster and public health management in the COVID-19 era. This officially puts Harold into a Category 5 system, based on the Australian/Fiji classification. The powerful storm leveled homes and snapping communications links in the archipelago. Volunteers at a TC Harold relief supplies distribution in Vanuatu. Harold inflicted at least $44 million in damages, destroyed at least 635 houses and damaged an additional 2,100 homes. More. The system had slowed to a crawl, said Fred Jockley, a forecaster at the Vanuatu Meteorological Service, a worrying development as a slow-moving cyclone allows it to absorb more moisture, thus gaining size and strength. Tropical Cyclone Harold, which claimed 27 lives when it swept through the Solomon Islands last week, strengthened to a scale-topping Category 5 […] Harold's onslaught on … Harold, a category four storm, was sitting off the country's west and continuing to strengthen on Sunday afternoon. By RNZ. (The storm inflicted far more serious damage to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga.) Then two cyclones named Gretel and Harold formed in Coral Sea on March and April respectively. Tropical cyclone (TC) Harold entered as a category 4 cyclone from the west and moved in a south easterly direction towards the southern part of Fiji waters on 8 April 2020. Accessed April 6, 2020. International Charter Space & Major Disasters (2020, April 3) Cyclone Harold in Vanuatu. Ferocious storm brought estimated winds of 165 mph — in the midst of coronavirus pandemic. Photo by: Vanuatu Red Cross Society via Facebook. Cyclone Harold, a category five storm, lashed several island nations in the region last week, killing dozens of people, flooding towns and leaving many homeless. https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/category-5-cyclone-harold-hits-vanuatu/37164 There are reports of injuries and damaged homes as Cyclone Harold moves into the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. But once out over the open water between the Solomon Island and Vanuatu, Harold blew up. Accessed April 6, 2020. They both exited the basin and intensified further into the South Pacific basin. Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold intensified into a category 5 cyclone overnight and continues to move in the east-southeast direction and away from the Fiji group. Cyclone Harold, however, did not spare it. Cyclone Harold seen from space. The category 5 storm, one of the strongest ever recorded in the Southeast Pacific, caused catastrophic damage when it struck April 6. More. The storm strengthened to the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 mph. Suva is the capital and largest metropolitan city in Fiji. The cyclone continued southeast and struck the southwest parts of the Fiji islands on April 8, causing similar damage. "For those in Vanuatu it doesn't get much worse than this," WeatherWatch.co.nz head forecaster Philip Duncan said. Esther didn't strengthen much, but Ferdinand went on to become a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone, equivalent to a Category 2 Atlantic Hurricane. In early April, Tropical Cyclone Harold hit Fiji as a category 4 storm. The latest system to be classified as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone was Harold, which was classified between April 5- 7, 2020 as it moved through Vanuatu and then as it impacted Tonga during April 8. Byron Kaye. Cyclone Harold made landfall as a Category 5 storm on the island nation's north and west after strengthening off the coast on Sunday, The Guardian reported. Category five Cyclone Harold makes landfall in Vanuatu UNTV News • April 6, 2020 • 374 A powerful tropical cyclone made landfall on the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Monday (April 6), sending debris flying and buffeting trees in a country already in a state of … According to initial reports, none of our brothers have been injured or killed. * Category 5 Cyclone Harold threatening Vanuatu with 235kmh gusts "In some parts of Santo Island not a single building or structure is free of damage. Cyclone Harold Slams Into Fiji As Category 5 Storm. The cyclone killed 27 people in the Solomons late last week before barrelling southeast to directly hit Vanuatu as a Category 5 storm [AFP] 9 Apr 2020. COVID 19, Cyclone Herald, Disaster Relief, Global Poverty, Homelessness, Vanuatu Cyclone Harold’s Effect on Homelessness in Vanuatu Cyclone Harold tore through Vanuatu in early April 2020 and brought torrential rain, flash flooding and destructive wind up to 145 miles per hour. Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold was a very powerful tropical cyclone which caused widespread destruction in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga during April 2020. Harold is the most brutal cyclone to hit the South Pacific in at least two years. office) central pressure. It is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Rewa Province, Central Division. Tropical Cyclone Harold, a Category 5 storm, moved through the northern islands of Vanuatu on April 5, 2020, causing extensive devastation. Beastly Cyclone Harold slams into Vanuatu at Category 5 intensity . Suva. Satellite images have revealed the scale of destruction in Vanuatu after category-five Cyclone Harold struck the island nation this week. Tropical Cyclone Harold packed winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour and was approaching the strength of a Category 5 hurricane, making … Vanuatu – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for USD four million to respond to urgent needs in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in the aftermath of the recent devastating Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Harold (‘TC Harold’) which directly impacted over half of the country’s 272,000 residents. Tropical Cyclone #Harold has done an unprecedented intensification into a powerful monster tropical system. Harold, a category four storm, was sitting off the country's west and continuing to strengthen on Sunday afternoon. Cyclone Harold strafed the Solomon Islands over the weekend as the equivalent of a tropical storm, washing 28 people on a ferry overboard who are presumed dead. It is packing 120 knots (140 mph / 225 km/h) maximum sustained winds and 936 mbar (914 mbar per Vanuatu Met. It was the first Category 5 tropical cyclone in 2020. Cyclone Harold is a category five storm - the most severe - and has already killed 27 people in the neighbouring Solomon Islands. At its peak, Harold was the equivalent of a Category 5 level hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Describing the arrival of Cyclone Harold as "bad timing," Mr Taridenga said the decision was helped by the fact that Vanuatu had no confirmed cases of Covid-19. Archive for category: Cyclone Herald. Wellington: Relief agencies are warning of incredible destruction in Vanuatu as tropical cyclone Harold bears down on the Pacific country as a category-five system. The Fiji Times (2020, April 6) TC Harold intensifies to a Category 5 storm.