vanuatu At least 8 die in cyclone
Associated Press
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand
At least eight people were confirmed dead in Vanuatu after a massive cyclone tore through the tiny South Pacific archipelago, and the death toll is likely to rise much higher once communications are restored with outlying islands, aid workers said today.
Packing winds of 168 miles per hour, Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu early Saturday, leaving a trail of destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths.
Chloe Morrison, a World Vision emergency communications officer in Port Vila, said officials from Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office confirmed to her agency that at least eight people in and around the capital, Port Vila, had died during the cyclone.
Officials have yet to assess the damage in many of the hard-hit outer islands because communications remain down, she said. Morrison said she had heard reports of entire villages being destroyed in more-remote areas.
A westward change of course put populated areas directly in the path of Pam. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there were unconfirmed reports of an additional 44 deaths in Vanuatu’s northeastern islands after Pam moved off its expected track.
Morrison said residents were awakening to much calmer weather today after many hunkered down in emergency shelters for a second-straight night Saturday. She said power remains out and communications patchy.
Many people who have ventured out from 23 emergency shelters around Port Vila have found their homes damaged or blown away, Morrison added.