A deadly Pacific cyclone intensified as it hit Vanuatu on Monday, threatening a natural disaster that experts fear will undermine the impoverished Pacific nation’s battle to remain coronavirus-free. Tropical Cyclone Harold, which claimed 27 lives when it swept through the Solomon Islands last week, strengthened to a scale-topping category five superstorm overnight, Vanuatu’s meteorology service said. It made landfall on the remote east coast of Espiritu Santo island on Monday morning and was heading directly for Vanuatu’s second-largest town Luganville, which has a population of 16,500.
