Paradise pounded: Vanuatu in the wake of Cyclone Pam 20150315_Vanuatu_Port Vila Cyclone Pam damage_CARE_Inga Mepham4.jpg Photo: CARE/Inga Mepham

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced an initial $5 Million Aid recovery package for Vanuatu. The Category 5 Cyclone Pam that struck Vanuatu on Friday has devastated the country. This cyclone is possibly the strongest ever in the south Pacific region. Tens of thousands of people are homeless, without adequate food, water, shelter or sanitation.

The Government of Vanuatu estimates that 80% of homes have been either destroyed or have sustained significant damage. Communications infrastructure has been knocked out in the hardest hit islands and there are grave fears for rural communities that were directly under the path of the cyclone’s eye.

Essential services have been wiped out on most islands, and even in the nation’s capital Port Vila, home to about 60,000, restoring water and electricity may take weeks.

Vanuatu needs…