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[h=4]Pacific nation devastated by historic Cyclone Pam[/h]Communities are in a shambles, communications remain near zero and access to clean water is a challenge on remote Pacific islands in the Vanuatu archipelago less than two days after Cyclone blasted through the
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Winds from an extremely powerful cyclone that blew through the Pacific's Vanuatu archipelago were beginning to subside on Saturday, revealing widespread destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths. (March 14) AP
A handout photo provided by UNICEF Pacific on 15 March 2015 shows a resident clearing debris from his home in Vanuatu on 15 March 2015.(Photo: Graham Crumb/ UNICEF PACIFIC / HANDOUT, EPA)
Communities were in a shambles, communications remained near zero and access to clean water was a severe challenge Sunday on the Vanuatu archipelago almost two days after Cyclone Pam blasted through the remote South Pacific island chain, the International Red Cross said Sunday.
Estimates on the death toll varied widely, with some officials reporting at least six dead while unconfirmed reports put the death toll at more than 40. The immense devastation, damage to the communications systems and remote nature of the chain of 65 inhabited islands made damage assessments of the tragedy difficult.
Pacific Red Cross chief Aurelia Balpe told The Australian that a pilot flew over the islands, reporting that on the southern island of Tanna many buildings were destroyed and even concrete buildings no longer had roofs. The southern end of the chain appeared to take the most direct hit.
"What he told me is that he could land — that was the first positive," Balpe told the Australian. "But as they flew in and out they saw lots of trees uprooted and, what was most striking, all corrugated iron structures were destroyed as far as they eye could see.
Cyclone Pam, possibly the worst cyclone in the Pacific's history, slammed into Vanuatu late Friday. Wind speeds of more than 165 mph made Pam a Category 5 storm.
Vanuatu, about a quarter of the way from Australia to Hawaii, has a population of 267,000. About 34,000 living on Tanna and tiny nearby islands at the southern end of the chain.
But the entire nation appeared to be devastated. The New Zealand Herald reported that 90% of homes Port Vila, with a population of almost 50,000, were damaged or destroyed.
"The immediate concern is for a very high death toll but also an enormous amount of destruction," Sune Gudnitz, regional director for the UN's Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA), told Reuters.
There were unconfirmed reports that 44 people had died in Penama province in the northeast of Vanuata, UNOCHA said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
Oxfam, the international aid agency, said its staff on the ground in Vanuatu reported a "complete destruction of homes," with three-story-high trees completely uprooted and small communities left with almost no homes standing.
"We have no power or running water and are still not able to move around freely," Collett van Rooyen, Oxfam's Vanuatu country director, reported. "The scale of this disaster is unprecedented in this country and the proud people of Vanuatu are going to need a lot of help to rebuild their homes and their lives."
Unicef New Zealand Executive Director Vivien Maidaborn said the early reports indicate that the disaster "could potentially be one of the worst in Pacific history."
The huge cyclone, as hurricanes are called in the Pacific, hit Vanuatu dead-center after a last-minute change of course to the west.
Chloe Morrison, a World Vision emergency communications officer in Port Vila, said the aid group was unable to account for many of its 76 staff members on the islands.
She said she's hearing reports of entire villages being destroyed in more remote areas, but that poor communications have made it difficult to make a full assessment.
Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for relief agency UNICEF in Port Vila, said the capital had been devastated by the storm.
"It looks like a bomb's gone off," she told NZME News Service. "Tourists who have been to Port Vila wouldn't recognize it."
She said trees and tin roofing were scattered across roads making it impossible for cars to get through. Broken shutters and glass from blown-out windows was everywhere she looked, Clements told the news service.
World Conference on Disaster Risk and Reduction in Japan. The U.N. said it was preparing to deploy emergency rapid response units.
The president of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, was attending the World Conference on Disaster Risk and Reduction in Japan when Pam hit.
"I am speaking to you today with a heart that is so heavy," he said Saturday. "I stand to appeal on behalf of the government and the people to give a helping hand in this disaster."
The tiny Pacific island nation has repeatedly warned it is already suffering devastating effects from climate change with the island's coastal areas being washed away, forcing resettlement to higher ground and smaller yields on traditional crops.
The cyclone has already destroyed some homes and caused damage to other Pacific islands including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.
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