RAF plane arrives in Vanuatu after devastating cyclone

An RAF plane has arrived in Vanuatu with vital supplies after the country was devastated by a tropical cyclone in the South Pacific.

The plane carrying 1,640 shelter kits and more than 1,900 solar lanterns with mobile phone chargers landed at around 3 am UK time, after the Government pledged £2 million towards humanitarian aid efforts.

Cyclone Pam ripped through the archipelago of islands with winds of up to 155 mph and heavy rainfall destroying 90% of the buildings in the capital of Port Vila.

Eleven people died in the disaster.

Residents of the island told ITV News earlier this week that they had to drink rainwater as they waited for supplies to reach them.

Aerial photos of the capital of Vanuatu struck by Cyclone Pam show the shocking scale of devastation.

Pictures taken of Port Vila in Vanuatu after the storms that lashed the South Pacific island nation were taken by satellite photographers DigitalGlobe as part of its Tomnod campaign to assist recovery efforts by mapping storm damage from above.

With 70 per cent of the region's population displaced, the Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for $3.8 million to help the survivors of the cyclone.

Oxfam Australia estimates that 90 per cent of the housing in Port Vila has been destroyed.

Cyclone Pam's path spanned a vast and remote area, 65 inhabited islands hundreds of miles apart.

Tanna island, with a population of 50,000, was pounded by the cyclone for eight hours. It still hasn't received any aid and 80 per cent of its inhabitants have lost their homes.

ITV News Correspondent Lucy Watson reports:

Aerial footage released by ABC News shows the extent of damage caused by Cyclone Pam in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

Aid agencies are struggling to reach the outer islands of the Pacific nation of Vanuatu after a devastating cyclone which left 24 dead and thousands more homeless.

The outlying islands bore the brunt of the category five storm, but workers are struggling to make contact after Cyclone Pam brought winds of more than 160 miles an hour to ravage the country.

ITV News correspondent Lucy Watson reports:

The death toll from a monster cyclone which ripped through the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has risen to 24, officials have confirmed.

Cyclone Pam smashed into the country's shores with winds of over 185mph, destroying homes, boats and roads and leaving more than 3,300 people homeless.

The National Disaster Management Office said the numbers could increase further as it struggles to make contact with the outlying islands which bore the brunt of the storm.

Thousands of pieces of vital equipment, including shelter and lanterns, has been sent by Britain to help people in Vanuatu whose lives have been devastated by Cyclone Pam.

An RAF C-17 transport plane left the base at Brize Norton earlier today, travelling to Australia where the equipment will be transported on to the small island nation.

Among the items on board are 1,640 shelter kits which can house families of five, as well as miore than 1,900 solar lanterns complete with in-built mobile phone chargers.

The C-17 and its crew will remain in Australia for several days along with a humanitarian expert, to provide support flights between Australia and Vanuatu.

It comes after the UK pledged £2 million to aid efforts, including £1m made available to the UN and other international aid agencies and another £1m made available through the Rapid Response Facility.

The president of the island nation of Vanuatu says his country is in "immediate" need after Cyclone Pam tore through the country at the weekend. Almost every house in the capital has been damaged and people are running out of water.

ITV News correspondent Lucy Watson sent this report from the capital Port Vila: