Eight dead, scores unaccounted for after cyclone smashes Vanuatu

At least eight people have been killed, while dozens remain unaccounted for after a Tropical Cyclone Pam made a direct hit on the island nation of Vanuatu, emergency officials said.

The United Nations had unconfirmed reports of 44 people killed in province, and said late Saturday that there was no clear number of deaths or injuries but that the impact of the cyclone had been “catastrophic.” The latest report put the confirmed death toll of Cyclone Pam at eight, but this is expected to increase.  

The cyclone is not expected to make any additional landfalls before disappearing, but the misery left behind is just becoming apparent. Aid workers described homes and shops flattened, swaths of trees ploughed over and residents shelter in schools and churches.

Communication with many of the 80-plus islands in the archipelago is impossible, so fear is that the death toll will climb. The deaths reported are just from Port Vila. It is unclear how many thousands will be displaced by the massive storm that bore the might of the hurricane.

Relief workers said hurricane winds and more than 9 inches of rain left “unbelievable destruction.” The coutnry’s capital, Port Vila, was the worst hit, raising fears of mass destructions. Vanuatu’s meteorological services reported winds of up 250 kilometre per hour and “very rough to phenomenal seas with heavy swelles.”

The cyclone had weakened from the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane to a Category 4. Pam is forecast to move southeastward along the western edge of the southern islands of Vanuatu. It is not expected to make any additional landfalls before dissipating.

It will continue to weaken as it crosses cooler waters and encounters higher wind shear.  Pam is expected to pass east of New Zealand on Sunday and into Monday. It could bring heavy rainfall to North Island, including Auckland.

Tropical Cyclone Pam is the strongest storm to make landfall since the devastating Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013..

The president of Vanuatu has since appealed for international assistance, while emergency response teams from Australia are on their way to the stricken island nation. Red Cross Australia and Save the Children workers are expected to arrive later on Sunday while Oxfam already has a team on the ground.

"I stand to appeal on behalf of the government and people of Vanuatu to the global community to give a lending hand in responding to these very current calamities that have struck us," Baldwin Lonsdale said on Saturday during a speech at a UN conference in Sendai, Japan.

The aid agencies say the immediate priorities are shelter, clean water and sanitation for the thousands left homeless after the category five cyclone.