Cyclone proofing urged

PORT VILA – An emergency management expert says Vanuatu needs to introduce cyclone proof building codes to avoid more big damage bills from disasters like Cyclone Pam.

Vanuatu faces a US$450 million reconstruction bill after it was devastated by the cyclone two months ago.

Jane Rovins of Massey University says Vanuatu’s development partners need to do more to help it prepare for disaster.

“We spend billions of dollars a year on disaster response and we spend pennies comparatively on disaster risk reduction when we know in the developing world that for every dollar we spend now we could save up to ten dollars in response if we did disaster risk reduction. So the system is there, we’re just not practicing what we preach.”

Dr Rovins says the increasing frequency and intensity of disasters across the world call for smarter development policies.