Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu

Cyclone Pam passed over Vanuatu on 13 and 14 March 2015, killing at least eleven people, and leaving devastation in its wake.

The destruction from the storm has been described as the worst disaster in Vanuatu's history. Vanuatu is an island nation in the south Pacific, composed of 82 islands.

Pam passed close to the island of Efate, upon which is located Vanuatu's capital city, Port Vila, on 13 March. At the time the storm was at Category Five strength, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

From there, the storm moved south, over Erromango and Tanna islands, and passed Aneityum island on 14 March.

The President of Vanuatu made an appeal on 14 March for international aid, describing the devastation wrought by the storm. It is reported that 90% of Port Vila has been destroyed, and that almost every house in the city has suffered at least some damage. While early warnings of the impending cyclone meant that residents had time to take shelter in emergency centres, the storm's powerful winds through wooden homes and power lines and left debris scattered across the area.

Recovery efforts began shortly after the storm passed, and international aid has been arriving in the archipelago. Tens of thousands of people are known to have been left homeless. But the southern islands are of great concern to emergency workers, as communications were severed with them by the storm. The full extent of the situation on these islands is unknown, and flooding from the cyclone has made it difficult or impossible for planes to land on the islands.

On 17 March, aid began to reach the other affected islands, and emergency workers are assessing the needs of residents there. They found that 80% of buildings on Tanna Island, which is home to 30,000 people, had been either destroyed or damaged by Cyclone Pam.