Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu late on March 13, packing wind gusts of up to 320 kilometers (200 miles) an hour, causing widespread damage in the archipelago nation in the South Pacific Ocean. Vanuatu's President Baldwin Lonsdale called the storm a "monster" that killed dozens, destroyed or damaged 90 percent of the buildings in the capital, and will force the nation to start anew. International aid agencies began emergency flights on Tuesday to some of the remote outer islands of Vanuatu, which they fear have been devastated. Officials are warning that Vanuatu now faces imminent food shortages, as aid agencies described conditions as among the most challenging they have ever faced.
Category 5 Cyclone Pam Devastates Vanuatu
Hints:
View this page full screen.
Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
-
![]()
Read moreCyclone Pam bears down on Vanuatu in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite taken at 1:30 p.m. local time (2:20 GMT) on March 13, 2015. Not long after the image was acquired, the storm struck the island of Efate, which is home to Vanuatu's capital city, Port Vila. Winds of up to 250 kilometers an hour (155 mph) ripped metal roofs off houses and downed trees in the Pacific island nation on Saturday, as relief agencies braced for a major rescue operation and unconfirmed reports said dozens had already died. #
Reuters/NASA -
-
![]()
Read moreStorm damage is seen on March 14, 2015, in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Cyclone Pam is pounding South Pacific islands with hurricane force winds, huge ocean swells, and flash flooding. #
UNICEF via Getty Images -
![]()
Read morePeople walk through a street in Lenakel town after Cyclone Pam in Tanna, about 200 kilometers from Port Vila, the capital city of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, on March 17, 2015. #
Edgar Su/Reuters -
![]()
Read moreThis aerial photo taken on March 16, 2015, above the suburbs of Port Vila shows uprooted tress after Super Tropical Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu on March 13. #
Fred Payet/AFP/Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreDamage to houses in Port Vila, Vanuatu, is seen from the air in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam on March 16, 2015. #
Dave Hunt/AP -
![]()
Read moreScenes of devastation in the area around Port Vila on March 16, 2015 #
MR Roderick J. Mackenzie/New Zealand Defence Force via Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreAdrian Banga surveys his destroyed house on March 16, 2015, in Port Vila, Vanuatu. #
Dave Hunt/Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreWhile needs assessments are underway and the first aid agencies are now reaching the areas surrounding Port Vila, people are already starting to pick up the pieces. This little boy put on his father’s gloves to help clean up the debris of his house. #
CC BY-ND UNICEF Pacific -
![]()
Read moreIn this Monday, March 16, 2015, photo, an Australian RAAF C-17 Globemaster is loaded with supplies, aid workers, and journalists while en route to Vanuatu. #
Dave Hunt/AP -
![]()
Read moreA view of part of Vanuatu's capital Port Vila on March 17, 2015, after Cyclone Pam ripped through the island nation. #
Jeremy Piper/AFP/Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreScenes of devastation in the area around Port Vila on March 16, 2015 #
MR Roderick J. Mackenzie/New Zealand Defence Force via Getty Images -
![]()
Read morePeople wash their clothes on the beach at Lenakel town in Tanna, days after Cyclone Pam hit the South Pacific island nation on March 17, 2015. #
Edgar Su/Reuters -
![]()
Read moreResidents clean up their homes in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila on March 17, 2015. #
Jeremy Piper/AFP/Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreA girl plays on the breakwater in Tanna, days after Cyclone Pam hit the South Pacific island nation on March 17, 2015. #
Edgar Su/Reuters -
![]()
Read moreThis photo taken on March 16, 2015, shows rescuers evacuating a resident onto a trailer and walking past a C-17. The aircraft was carrying relief and assistance as part of a trilateral disaster relief arrangement in the Pacific (FRANZ) between Australia, France, and New Zealand to cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu after Super Tropical Cyclone Pam tore through on March 13. #
Fred Payet/AFP/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreClothes dry on a roof as residents clean up their homes in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila on March 17, 2015. #
Jeremy Piper/AFP/Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreA woman weaves a straw mat as another burns decomposed foliage in Tanna days after Cyclone Pam hit, on March 17, 2015. #
Edgar Su/Reuters -
![]()
Read moreThis aerial photo taken on March 16, 2015, above the suburbs of Port Vila shows damage inflicted to buildings in Vanuatu after Super Tropical Cyclone Pam tore through on March 13. #
Fred Payet/AFP/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreResidents contend with storm damage in Mele village on March 15, 2015, in Port Vila, Vanuatu. #
UNICEF via Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreResidents clean up their homes in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila on March 17, 2015, after Cyclone Pam ripped through the island nation. #
Jeremy Piper/AFP/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreThis photo taken on March 17, 2015, shows men trying to repair a damaged bridge in Port Vila in cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu on March 13. #
Fred Payet/AFP/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreA woman holds her 3-year-old outside their damaged home as night falls after Cyclone Pam in Tanna, about 200 kilometers from Port Vila, the capital city of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, on March 17, 2015. #
Edgar Su/Reuters -
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.