In pictures: Cyclone Pam hits Vanuatu

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The Pacific nation of Vanuatu is assessing the devastation after Cyclone Pam struck on Saturday.

Uwen Garae surveys his damaged house in Port Vila, Vanuatu in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam Monday, 16 March 2015.Image source, AP

Most houses in the capital, Port Vila, have suffered damage. Trees have been uprooted and streets are filled with debris. President Baldwin Lonsdale said the "monster" storm was a setback to the nation's development.

Samuel, only his first name given, carries a ball through the ruins of their family home as his father, Phillip, at back, picks through the debris in Port Vila, Vanuatu in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam Monday, 16 March 2015.Image source, AP

Aid agencies have scrambled to fly in supplies into Port Vila, where power and water supplies have been knocked out.

United Nations personnel are seen amongst aid being flown to Vanuatu's capital Port Villa onboard an RAAF C-17 Globemaster, 16 March 2015.Image source, EPA

The cyclone arrived on Saturday after gathering strength in the Pacific, bringing winds of more than 300kph (185mph).

This handout photo taken and received on 14 2015 by Unicef Pacific shows waves and scattered debris along the coast, caused by Cyclone Pam, in the Vanuatu capital of Port VilaImage source, AFP

Aid worker Chloe Morrison, who was in Port Vila when the cyclone hit, said: "Trees were crashing into the house. It was very, very frightening."

In this photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, locals walk past debris in Port Vila, Vanuatu, after Cyclone Pam ripped through the tiny South Pacific archipelago, Sunday, 15 March 2015Image source, AP

Concrete structures managed to withstand the pounding but wooden houses with corrugated iron roofs were demolished.

Local residents move debris near their homes destroyed by Cyclone Pam in Port Vila, the capital city of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu 15 March 2015Image source, AFP

Tom Skirrow from Save the Children told the BBC that people in evacuation centres were living "under cramped conditions without adequate water, adequate food, adequate sanitation".

Adrian Banga surveys his destroyed house in Port Vila, Vanuatu in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam Monday, 16 March 2015Image source, AP

Infrastructure has also been hit, like this bridge. "The concern is that the people with the really bad injuries can't get to the hospital," British doctor Carina Smith told the BBC.

In this 15 March 2015 photo provided by UNICEF Pacific people walk over a bridge damaged by Cyclone Pam near Port Vila, VanuatuImage source, AP

Of major concern are outlying southern islands that were in the direct path of the storm. This image shows damaged houses just outside Port Vila - but very little has been heard from more remote areas.

This handout photo taken and received on 15 March 2015 by CARE Australia shows an aerial photo of damage caused by Cyclone Pam on the outskirts of the Vanuatu capital of Port VilaImage source, AFP

The cyclone also hit other Pacific nations. In Kiribati, it caused flash floods.

A handout image provided by the Red Cross Australia on 13 March 2015 shows the situation in Kiribati ahead of Cyclone Pam, 13 March 2015Image source, EPA