Roads were being cleared, power lines were being restored and people are in evacuation shelters in Vanuatu’s capital Friday in the aftermath of “Cyclone Judy” when a 6.5 and 5.4 magnitude earthquakes struck the Pacific island nation.

There was no immediate reports of casualty from the two consecutive tremors as damage assessment is hampered by high winds from an approaching “Cyclone Kevin.”

“People on (Espiritu) Santo felt the earthquake, but couldn’t go outside to assess the damage because of the high winds,” Dickinson Tevi, secretary general of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society told Agence France-Presse.

“It’s crazy, Vanuatu is used to natural disasters, but I think this is the first time it has had two cyclones back to back,” Unite Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’s Eric Durpaire told AFP.

“Medical centers, hospitals and schools will have been affected. Some children may not be able to go to school for weeks, maybe months,” Durpaire added.

Meanwhile, disaster response agencies are bracing for further damage with the looming landfall of “Cyclone Kevin” which packs winds of 130 kilometers per hour.

Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau announced a state of emergency.

“After the aerial assessment reports and evaluations on the ground, we will be able to declare the disaster areas in the places that have been severely damaged,” Kalsakau said. WITH AFP