WeatherFanatics: PHOTOS: Deadly Tropical Cyclone Pam Devastates Vanuatu

Sunday, March 15, 2015

PHOTOS: Deadly Tropical Cyclone Pam Devastates Vanuatu

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

March 15,2015; 11:18PM,EDT

While Pam has dissipated just north of New Zealand, more images are emerging of the devastation left behind in Vanuatu.
At least eight people have been confirmed dead across Vanuatu, according to Reuters.
"Given that we haven't been able to communicate with the other islands and what I've seen in terms of damage to houses in Port Vila, it's an unfortunate reality that the death toll may rise," stated Chloe Morrison, World Vision's Emergency Communications Officer in Vanuatu in a press release issued Sunday night, local time.

Damage left behind from Tropical Cyclone Pam in Port Vila, Vanuatu, was captured in this photo by World Vision on Saturday, March 14.
Vanuatu, a country between Fiji and mainland Australia, took a direct hit from Pam when the tropical cyclone was at its peak intensity on Friday, local time. Maximum sustained winds reached nearly 270 kph (167 mph), making Pam the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane or a super typhoon.
"Early reports indicate that homes are damaged or destroyed, phone lines are unreliable and the airport remains closed to commercial flights," the press release from World Vision added. World Vision has only made contact with 26 of its 80 staff on the island.
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"We've heard that whole villages have been blown away," continued Morrison. "The homes have been completely flattened. They're just piles of timber, just totally decimated. The wind was so strong it just below away huge chunks of debris."

Photo of the damage in Port Vila, Vanuatu, is courtesy of World Vision on Saturday, March 14.
South of Port Vila, an official with the Australian Red Cross told Reuters that "Virtually every building that is not concrete has been flattened" on the island of Tanna.
While Pam has been officially downgraded it is still bringing winds over 40 mph. Earlier Sunday it slammed northern New Zealand with flooding rain, damaging winds and dangerously rough surf.