As cyclone Ivy sweeps southward over Vanuatu, the capital, Port Vila, on the island of Efate, has been put on red alert.
Five hundred people from low-lying communities and people who live in "bush" thatch homes have been evacuated to churches and schools.
Government departments, businesses and schools in Port Vila have closed and everyone has been told to stay indoors.
Despite Ivy's centre packing winds of up to 200 kilometres-per-hour, the manager of the National Disaster Management Office, Job Esau, says it is no more intense than other cyclones they have had at this time of year.
"It's not a big difference because we are used to cyclones so this is normal and it is same time of cyclone that we are used to."
The manager of the National Disaster Management Office, Job Esau.
