[SUP]Locals are battered by wind as they walk along the shore in Port Vila[/SUP]
Vanuatu's President Baldwin Lonsdale has called for international help after Cyclone Pam ripped through the Pacific archipelago.
Describing it as a "calamity", he said he spoke with a "heavy heart".
Aid agencies say the cyclone, which veered off its expected course on Saturday and struck populated areas, has caused "complete devastation".
Save the Children says eight people are confirmed dead but it is feared dozens more may have been killed.
Located about a quarter of the way from Australia to Hawaii, Vanuatu has a population of 267,000 spread over 65 islands. About 47,000 people live in the capital, Port Vila.
Many residents there are spending a second night in emergency shelters after finding their homes destroyed.
The UN's Office for the Co-ordination for Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) described the storm, which brought winds of up to 270km/h (170mph) and torrential rain, as "extremely destructive".
"A disaster of this magnitude has not been experienced by Vanuatu in recent history - particularly in terms of the reach of the potential damage and the ferocity of the storm," said Sune Gudnitz, head of the agency's Pacific office.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31887286
