Update | Huge cyclone in Pacific devastates Vanuatu

A terrifying tropical cyclone which smashed into Vanuatu in the South Pacific wreaked widespread devastation, aid agencies said yesterday, raising fears that dozens might have died in what could be one of the region's worst weather disasters.

The full extent of the damage was unknown, with limited communications in place after Super Cyclone Pam, a maximum category-five storm, slammed directly into the island country late on Friday with gusts up to 320 km/h.

The United Nations had unconfirmed reports of 44 people killed in one province, and said late yesterday that there was no clear number of deaths or injuries but that the impact of the cyclone had been "catastrophic".

"A disaster of this magnitude has not been experienced by Vanuatu in recent history - particularly in terms of the reach of the potential damage and the ferocity of the storm," said Sune Gudnitz, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Pacific.

Aid agencies were preparing to send teams to Vanuatu. "While it is too early to say for certain, early reports are indicating that this weather disaster could potentially be one of the worst in Pacific history," Unicef New Zealand's executive director Vivien Maidaborn said.