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UN revises from 24 to 11 the official number killed in Cyclone Pam

Aerial assessments found severe and widespread damage as a result of Cyclone Pam
Aerial assessments found severe and widespread damage as a result of Cyclone Pam

The death toll from Cyclone Pam has been revised down from 24 to 11 in Vanuatu, the UN has said, with storm damage still limiting access to affected areas.

The UN lowered its earlier toll, citing figures from the Pacific nation's disaster office.

In a revised situation report, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said: "The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) has confirmed 11 fatalities in Tafea and Shefa Province, including five from Tanna Island".

Aerial assessments by military aircraft from New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand found "severe and widespread damage", it said.

"Damage to infrastructure is limiting access to affected populations and hampering movement, however commercial flights have resumed to Port Vila", the report said.

Radio and telephone contact with outer islands are still to be reestablished, with efforts focused on the capital and accessible parts of the main island.

Prime Minister Joe Natuman said it would be "at least a week or two" before authorities had a better sense of the destruction caused by the storm, which carried winds of up to 320km/ph.

While initial assessors had been able to enter the eastern and western parts of the island chain, northern and southern areas are still largely inaccessible, Mr Natuman said.