14 Mar 2014

Three dead, six missing in Vanuatu

4:29 pm on 14 March 2014

Three people are dead and six are missing as officials in Vanuatu assess the damage left by tropical cyclone Lusi which swept through the country earlier this week.

Two of the dead were hit by falling tree branches in their garden, and there are concerns the death toll may rise.

Six people, believed to be three women and three children, went missing after a landslide destroyed a tiny village in Santo.

The cyclone damaged crops and roads, and contaminated much the country's water supply.

The chief executive of the Red Cross in Vanuatu, Jacqueline De Gaillande, says it is helping people in the countries' north but not on a large scale.

"I will say not really a big job because the cyclone was not so hard. But actually we only have three staff here in the headquarters and they are all working already on providing support to our branches in the north."

Jacqueline De Gaillande says she doesn't know number of residents displaced by the cyclone, but believes it is small.