Death, Destruction In Vanuatu As Super Typhoon Pam Exits

Scores are feared dead in Vanuatu as category 5 Typhoon Pam pummeled the Pacific nation of Vanuatu with winds of up to 270 kph (170 mph) and dumped more than 8 inches of rainfall. 

According to Reuters, strong winds knocked down telecommunication and power lines while flash floods have made roads impassable, hampering rescue and relief efforts. Thousands of residents are now staying at evacuation centers to ride out the storm. 

BBC News also reported that authorities trying to reestablish communications with parts of its northern provinces which had lost contact with them.

Wind field of Cyclone Pam over Vanuatu
Image source: Weather.com

The scale and magnitude of the Super Typhoon Pam have led many weather and disaster management experts to compare it with Super Typhoon Haiyan, the storm that lashed at Central Philippines in November 2013 and killed over 6,000 people.

Meteorologists compared Super Typhoon (ST) Pam with that of ST Haiyan that hit the Philippines in November 2013.
Image credit: Weather.com

International aid organizations and the UN are now scrambling to send relief and aid teams to Vanuatu. Experts expect realistic assessment of the damage and the death toll to take days or weeks.