Calm after the storm

Calm after the storm

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People wash their clothes on the beach days after a huge cyclone tore across the South Pacific nation wreaking widespread devastation.

International aid organisations overseeing the rescue works had been particularly concerned about Tanna, which bore the full force of the storm.

. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su
People walk through a street in Lenakel town after the cyclone.

Cyclone Pam's gusts of more than 185 mph washed away roads, shredded forests, damaged buildings and destroyed homes.

While Tanna suffered extensive damage in the category 5 storm, on the island of 29,000 people said that it appeared most of the population had survived by sheltering in schools, churches and other sturdy buildings.

. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Children ride on a truck in Lenakel town.

"We are running short of food, water, shelter and electricity. We have no communications, we are still waiting for the people from parliament, the chief and the president, but still nobody is coming,” 67-year-old Ropate Vuso said.

. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su
People dry their clothes near the beach in Lenakel town.

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.

According to the United Nations the official death toll from Cyclone Pam was 11, revising down its earlier figure of 24, but many officials anticipate that number would rise once they are able to more thoroughly inspect the outer islands of the scattered archipelago.

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Slideshow

A man sits on the breakwater at the destroyed town of Lenakel in Tanna.
. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

A man sits on the breakwater at the destroyed town of Lenakel in Tanna.

People sit by the beach as children play on the breakwater.
. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

People sit by the beach as children play on the breakwater.

Local residents look at damaged boats washed up into a small inlet in Port Vila, the capital city of  Vanuatu.
. PORT VILLA, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Kris Paras

Local residents look at damaged boats washed up into a small inlet in Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu.

A man passes a destroyed house in Lenakel.
. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

A man passes a destroyed house in Lenakel.

Local residents stand outside their homes on a road littered with debris in Port Vila.
. PORT VILLA, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Kris Paras

Local residents stand outside their homes on a road littered with debris in Port Vila.

Women returning from Port Vila carry their belongings as they walk back to their village from the airport.
. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Women returning from Port Vila carry their belongings as they walk back to their village from the airport.

A woman weaves a straw mat as another burns decomposed foliage in Tanna.
. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

A woman weaves a straw mat as another burns decomposed foliage in Tanna.

A Chinese construction worker calls home for the first time after Cyclone Pam hit Tanna.
. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

A Chinese construction worker calls home for the first time after Cyclone Pam hit Tanna.

A woman holds her three-year-old outside their damaged home as night falls after Cyclone Pam in Tanna.
. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

A woman holds her three-year-old outside their damaged home as night falls after Cyclone Pam in Tanna.

An aerial view of the destruction in Port Vila.
. Port Vila, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

An aerial view of the destruction in Port Vila.

. Tanna, Vanuatu. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Blankets are laid out to dry after the cyclone.