The cyclone bearing down on Vanuatu has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm with our Pacific neighbours on Red Alert as they brace for winds close to 300km per hour. Tropical Cyclone Lola is sitting just to the north-east of Vanuatu and is expected to crash straight into the archipelago today. It's the earliest recorded Category 5 cyclone ever to develop in the South Pacific, with the official cyclone season not beginning until the 1st of November. Air Vanuatu has suspended all domestic and international flights, while authorities are calling ships back to harbour in anticipation of violent winds and a potentially tsunami-like storm surge. Fred Jockley is acting director of the Vanuatu Meteorological Service and speaks to Susana Lei'ataua [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6339746363112