Cyclone victims ‘running out of supplies’ in Vanuatu

Residents of the southern Vanuatu island of Tanna said they were running out of food and basic supplies after a huge cyclone tore across the South Pacific nation wreaking widespread devastation but not the heavy death toll initially feared.

Relief workers were still battling to reach many of the islands pummelled by Cyclone Pam’s gusts of more than 300kph.

With communications cut off and reconnaissance flights revealing destroyed houses, shredded forests, and damaged buildings, international aid agencies had been particularly worried about Tanna, which bore the full force of the storm.