Vanuatu Cyclone Pam: Devastation on South Pacific archipelago revealed in pictures

President Baldwin Lonsdale has spoken of the "immediate" need for help

(AP)

Pictures have begun emerging of the devastation from Cyclone Pam in the small South Pacific archipelago nation of Vanuatu.

The tiny nation, home to roughly 252,000 people, was battered by winds of up to 168mph when Cyclone Pam ripped through the 64 islands that form Vanuatu on Saturday.

President Baldwin Lonsdale said his country was in “immediate” need today as he spoke of how the storm had “wiped out” years of previous development in a country that already ranked among the worlds poorest.

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(EPA)

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Aid agencies have said it could be the worst disaster to ever hit the region.

The official death toll stands at eight, with approximately 30 injured, but this number is expected to rise as many of the islands remain cut off with rescuers unsure of the scale of damage.

Today, helicopters and light aircraft are expected to be flown over the outlying islands.

"The priority at the moment is to get people water, food and shelter," the coordinator of Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office Paolo Malatu told reporters.