{"id":99657,"date":"2015-03-16T09:20:40","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T09:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=99657"},"modified":"2015-03-16T09:20:40","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T09:20:40","slug":"vanuatu-cyclone-pam-wiped-out-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/03\/vanuatu-cyclone-pam-wiped-out-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanuatu cyclone: Pam ‘wiped out’ development"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cyclone Pam has “wiped out” development in Vanuatu, its president said, amid ongoing concern over residents of the Pacific nation’s outlying islands.<\/p>\n
Aid has begun arriving in the storm-hit nation – one of the world’s poorest – where trees and power lines have been felled and many buildings destroyed.<\/p>\n
Aid agencies say it could be one of the worst disasters ever to hit the region.<\/p>\n
The situation on some remote islands closer to the eye of the storm is not yet known as communications are down.<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Jon Donnison, who is tweeting from the capital, Port Vila, says just about every house there has received some damage.<\/p>\n
Aerial images of the capital show houses completely flattened. One village chief told our correspondent there was a desperate need for fresh water supplies.<\/p>\n
The official death toll is eight, but this is expected to rise as rescuers reach more the remote islands.<\/p>\n
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