Vanuatu in bid to tackle Cyclone Pam aftermath, as toll rises to 24

Vanuatu's disaster management authorities together with aid agencies on Tuesday kept struggling with the category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam's aftermath as the latest death toll from the United Nations has risen to 24.

Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu over the weekend, claiming lives, razing homes, smashing boats and destroying crops.

The government has declared a state of emergency in parts of the country. Commercial flights remained suspended and communication with remote areas remained down.

Vanuatu has a population of 267,000 spread over 65 islands.

Some 47,000 people live in the capital of Port Vila. On the island of Efate, where Port Vila is located, an estimated 90 percent of structures were damaged or destroyed.

As one of the strongest cyclones experienced within the region, Cyclone Pam "is likely to be the worst natural disaster the South Pacific has seen", the U.N. said.

According to the latest situation report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 24 people were confirmed killed by the cyclone, including 11 from the southern province of Tafea, eight from Efate island, and five from Tanna island.

There are 3,300 people sheltering in 37 evacuation centers.

Aurelia Balpe, Fiji-based head of delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Pacific told Xinhua on Tuesday that according the latest field report from the Vanuatu Red Cross, the Vanuatu government has confirmed at least 11 Cyclone Pam-related deaths.

Li Cuiying, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Vanuatu told Xinhua on Tuesday that four Chinese nationals sustained minor injuries in the natural disaster and have received proper medical treatment.

In a bid to help facilitate disaster relief efforts, the Chinese embassy has handed over the humanitarian assistance of 100, 000 U.S. dollars from the Red Cross Society of China to the Vanuatu Red Cross. Endi