Please refer to the attached file. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Vanuatu consistently ranks near the top of countries with the highest natural disaster risk in the world, based on factors related to exposure to a range of natural hazards, societal vulnerability, and coping capacity. The risk natural hazards pose is compounded by the country’s location, dispersed island geography and population, fragmented infrastructure, limited natural resources, fragile economy, and disaster management (DM) capabilities that are resource constrained. Most of Vanuatu’s population live in rural areas across 65 inhabited islands, a settlement pattern that is a challenge to humanitarian access. Outside of the country’s two urbanized areas, Port Vila and Luganville, responders must be prepared to work in an environment that is logistically constrained. In recent years, Vanuatu has strengthened its national-level DM frameworks, policies, and institutions. Institutional changes were formalized by the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Act of 2019. The law establishes a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to DRM. Much of the country’s growing capacity can also be attributed to maturing local DM networks and the ongoing work of provincial authorities, local leaders, churches, non-governmental organizations (NGO), and the Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS). The country’s key DM agencies are steadily gaining capacity. The National Disaster Committee (NDC) is the senior statutory committee responsible for national-level DRM oversight. The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) is the principal national agency responsible for coordinating DRM, preparedness, response, and facilitation of international humanitarian assistance, and the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) is Vanuatu’s principal national operational coordination facility during disasters. The National Cluster System was established with the objective of strengthening disaster preparedness and response. While Vanuatu continues to increase capacity, it integrates assistance as needed from regional and international partners – i. e. , United Nations (UN) entities, NGOs, and donors. As of the publication of this handbook, Vanuatu is still recovering from a large earthquake in December 2024; it caused significant infrastructural damage to the capital, Port Vila, and surrounding areas. The impact set back Vanuatu’s economy and affected the livelihoods of many. While the Vanuatu government led the response to the quake, the damage was such that the government requested assistance from regional partners and the international humanitarian community. Additional response capabilities, such as search and rescue, medical treatment, logistics, airlift, surveillance, and emergency aid, were provided by the international community and foreign militaries. The 2024 earthquake response demonstrated not only how Vanuatu’s DM leadership and stakeholders operate in an emergency but also showed how they had learned from previous disasters – e. g. , Tropical Cyclones Pam (2015) and Harold (2020). After those storms, Vanuatu improved the way it integrated incoming support while also improving its own domestic coordination mechanisms, leading to better cooperation during the 2024 earthquake response. This handbook provides a DM profile of Vanuatu to support civilian and military personnel who are planning a disaster response operation in support of Vanuatu or developing DM engagements with the government and community stakeholders. This publication provides a profile of the national DM structure, policies, plans, and institutions, as well as background information on the country, its natural hazards, and details of past cooperation with international partners – including the United States (U. S.) – for disaster preparedness and response.
Disaster Management Reference Handbook (October 2026) – Vanuatu
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