State of natural disaster urged for Wallis and Futuna
Helene Hofman
Last Updated:
The French government is being asked to declare a state of natural disaster for its pacific territories of Wallis and Futuna, devastated by Cyclone Tomas earlier this week.
The French Minister for the Overseas has made an official request to the French Government to declare a state of natual disaster.
A preliminary assessment of the damage from Cyclone Tomas that hit earlier this week shows up to 70 per cent the island's buildings have been damaged or destoyed.
The north coast of the island of Futuna which is home to the one third of the 15 thousand inhabitants, has been worst affected.
80 per cent of farmlands have been destoyed and 50 per cent on Wallis.
Although electricty has been restored, phone lines are still down.
Two teams sent by the French army and New Caledonia are helping with the initial rebuilding efforts.
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