March 4, 2023 - Tropical Cyclone Kevin Batters Beleaguered Vanuatu

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It’s been a tough few days for Vanuatu. Between February 27 and March
3, 2023, the beautiful South Pacific island nation has been battered by
two severe tropical cyclones and two earthquakes. The situation was
summed up by Port Vila-based journalist Dan McGarry, who tweeted on
March 3, “Port Vila has properly woken up now’. That was followed by a
quick situation summary, “Fuel is in short supply, power is out
everywhere, and a boil-water order is in effect.” The government of
Vanuatu declared a State of Emergency on March 2.

On February 27, Tropical Cyclone Judy was closing in on the northern
islands of Vanuatu, carrying maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph
(120 km/h). Unfortunately, it was intensifying. As the storm’s center
passed only 4.4 miles (7 km) east of the small island of Port Vila, the
location of the country’s capital, maximum sustained winds were 97.5
mph (157 km/h). That is the equivalent of a Category 2 storm on the
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. On March 1, as it made landfall on
Tanna Island in southern Vanuatu, Tropical Cyclone Judy had reached
peak strength as a Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds of
120 mph (193 km/h).

Less than 24 hours after Judy pulled away from Vanuatu, her big brother
came calling. Tropical Cyclone Kevin slammed across the country as an
even more powerful storm. As Kevin passed by Port Vila, maximum
sustained winds were estimated at about 110 mph (177 km/h), or a strong
Category 2 storm, but it was strengthening. As Kevin passed near Tanna
Island, maximum sustained winds reached about 120 mph (193 km/h). At
0300 UTC on March 4 (10:00 p.m. EST on March 3), the Joint Typhoon
Warning Center (JTWC) advised that Tropical Storm Kevin’s maximum
sustained winds reached 150 mph (241 km/h), or a strong Category 4
storm. At that time, Kevin was pulling away from Vanuatu.

Meanwhile, while the citizens were taking cover from severe winds in
their homes or in shelters, two earthquakes shook the country. A
magnitude 6.5 quake struck 56 miles (90 km) from Luganville on the
island of Espiritu Santo on March 2. Only an hour and a half later, a
5.4 magnitude earthquake struck 71 miles (114 km) away from that city.

No casualties have been reported from the quakes on Espiritu Santo, but
the situation on outlying islands still remains unclear. Damage
assessment from the dual hurricanes has just begun, with various
reports of widespread damage including flooding, damaged or “flattened”
buildings, and power outages. The Vanuatu Red Cross Secretary was
quoted as saying on March 3, “We are still trying to establish
communication with our branch in Tanna. We still have not heard
anything since Cyclone Judy hit.” Tanna Island in the province of Tafea
is expected to be the region worst affected by the hurricanes.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Terra satellite acquired at true-color image of Tropical Cyclone
Kevin on March 2. Near the time the image was acquired, maximum
sustained winds were estimated at about 70 mph (113 km/h), placing it
at just under tropical storm strength. Rain bands reach over the
Solomon Islands (north) while the islands of Vanuatu sit in the
southeast, directly in the path of the rapidly strengthening storm.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 3/2/2023
Resolutions: 1km (436.4 KB), 500m (1.3 MB), 250m (3.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-03-04

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