Cyclone was monster, says Vanuatu’s president

Vanuatu’s president was rushing back to his country in the wake of what he dubbed a “monster” cyclone whose damage was still unknown beyond the devastation in the south Pacific archipelago’s capital city.

Looking weary and red-eyed, Baldwin Lonsdale said the latest information he had was that six people were confirmed dead and 30 injured from Cyclone Pam, which he said destroyed or damaged 90% of the buildings in the capital alone.

Lonsdale was interviewed in Sendai, in north-eastern Japan, where he had been attending a UN disaster conference when the cyclone struck.