The island of Tahiti has been placed under red alert in reaction to Cyclone Oli, which hit the group of French Polynesian islands earlier today. Authorities have warned residents not to venture out of doors, for the storm is the most violent that the country has witnessed in several decades.
Tahiti is the main island in French Polynesia, an overseas possession of France in Oceania. While living standards are generally high, there are large disparities in income and unemployment remains high. The needs of children in the country are great, for there is a large young dependency ratio, with 30% of the population being under the age of 15.
Responding quickly to natural disasters is vital to child survival, as often, they are the most vulnerable population in the aftermath. Moreover, natural disasters are known to cause “secondary crises,” whereby the access to food is disrupted, sanitation facilities destroyed, and the infrastructure needed to transport medical supplies collapses, ultimately leading to further loss of life. This is exactly what happened in the case of Burma’s Cyclone Nargis in 2008, where 30 000 already-malnourished children faced an increased threat of starvation.
Indeed, French Minister for Overseas Territories, Marie-Luce Penchard, informed the AFP that there were serious health matters at hand vis-à-vis the cyclone. France is ready to aid in relief and recovery efforts if the damage from the Oli proves to be severe.
In Tahiti at present, 130km per hour winds and seven metre waves are expected to descend on the island. Roads, schools, airports and other public spaces deemed non-essential in an emergencies have been shut down as a safety precaution.
Already, there have been some reports from Bora Bora that the cyclone has demolished roofs, cut off the supply of power, and caused other damages to physical property. However, there have been no reports of death or critical injury.
Current data has the storm moving toward the islands of Tubai and Mataura.
The United Nations expects that a failure to mitigate the effects of climate change will precipitate more natural disasters. In this scenario of non-remediation, they expect 175 million children to die of natural disasters such as cyclones, droughts and floods.