Cyclone Pam: Vanuatu Devastation 'Apocalyptic'

The president of a Pacific island nation devastated by a tropical cyclone says he "fears the worst" as the first aid teams reached the disaster zone.

Up to 50 people are reported to have been killed by Cyclone Pam, which brought winds of more than 185mph when it struck Vanuatu, levelling homes, smashing up boats, destroying roads and bridges, and bringing down power and phone lines.

But aid agencies say the real number is expected likely to be much higher as rescuers reach the outlying islands.

Thousands have been left homeless on the archipelago.

A Red Cross spokesman described the situation as "apocalyptic" and Vanuatu's government has declared a state of emergency.

President Baldwin Lonsdale, who happened to be at a disaster risk conference in Japan, compared the storm to a monster.

He said most houses in the capital Port Vila had been damaged or destroyed.

President Lonsdale said the impact would be "the very, very, very worst" in isolated outer islands but he held out hope the number of casualties would be "minor".

He had earlier made a tearful appeal for international assistance.

Aid workers were particularly concerned about the southern island of Tanna, about 125 miles south of the capital, Port Vila.

An official with the Australian Red Cross said an aircraft had managed to land there and confirmed "widespread destruction".

"Virtually every building that is not concrete has been flattened," the official said.

Witnesses in Port Vila described sea surges of up to 26ft (8m) and widespread flooding.

Residents said the storm sounded like a freight train, with Port Vila left strewn with debris.

Formerly known as the New Hebrides, Vanuatu is made up of 83 islands and 260,000 people, lying around 1,250 miles northeast of the Australian city of Brisbane.

It is among the world's poorest countries and is vulnerable to natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis and storms.

Aid officials said the storm was comparable in strength to Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2013 and killed more than 6,000 people.

UNICEF estimated that 54,000 children are among those affected by the cyclone.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the impact and scope of the disaster remained unclear.

"We hope the loss of life will be minimal," he said at the World Conference on Disaster Risk and Reduction in Japan.

Both Australia and New Zealand have sent in aid flights carrying emergency supplies while a UN team was also preparing to travel to the disaster zone.

The UK has pledged to contribute up to £2m in aid to help in the wake of the storm.