Dozens Feared Dead After Cyclone Strikes Pacific Island Nation

At least eight people are dead after Cyclone Pam struck the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu on Saturday, The Guardian reports. The death toll is expected to rise significantly.
According to The Guardian, Vanuatu is composed of 83 islands populated by 267,000 people. About 47,000 people live in the capital, Port Vila.
"We do anticipate that there'll be higher numbers [of casualties] on remote islands, because they have less sophisticated shelter," Colin Collett van Rooyen, director of Oxfam in Vanuatu, told the British newspaper, "but we have no indication of what's happening there because we have no communications to the islands."
A video posted to YouTube on Friday appeared to show widespread destruction caused by the storm in Port Vila.
"The sheer force of the storm combined with communities just not set up to withstand it, could have devastating results for thousands across the region," Vivien Maidaborn, executive director of UNICEF in New Zealand, told The Guardian.
According to CNN, UNICEF spokesperson Alice Clements said that the entire country is still without power or water.
[Photo credit: Getty Images]
