DHAKA: Cyclone Pam, a category five tropical storm, is bearing down on Vanuatu after causing destruction in several South Pacific nations.

Flash floods and strong winds have hit Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, causing significant damage, reports BBC.

Vanuatu has issued a red alert nationwide. The cyclone has reached its north and was expected to felt in the capital, Port Vila, on Friday night.

There have been no casualties or loss of life reported yet.

Meanwhile, category three Cyclone Olwyn has hit the coast of Western Australia, with wind gusts of up to 195kph (120mph).

People in the WA coastal region were warned to move to higher ground to escape dangerous flooding.
Tuvalu emergency

Cyclone Pam has already caused flash floods in Tuvalu, which has declared a state of emergency.

The storm destroyed homes and flooded crop areas in Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, where at least 3,000 households have been affected.

The Vanuatu Meteorological Services (VMS) said that at 18:00 local time (05:00 GMT) Pam was 105km north-northeast of Port Vila and packing strong winds of 230km/h (142mph) at its centre.

All six provinces are now under red alert, meaning people are advised to immediately head to shelter.

VMS said "very destructive winds and very rough to phenomenal seas with heavy swells" were already hitting the region, while torrential rainfall, flash flooding, landslides and storm surges were expected.

Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office spokesperson Mishaen Garae Lulu told Radio New Zealand that the government had lost contact with some parts of the northern provinces.

He said the cyclone was expected to be worse than Cyclone Uma which killed 50 people in 1987.

Port Vila, was expected to escape the worst of the cyclone but people were being advised to move away from rivers and the sea.

Alice Clements, an official with the UN's children's agency Unicef, told the BBC that the capital had become a ghost town as people took shelter.

"The winds have intensified and the skies have totally clouded over, you can't see the sea or the hills now. Foliage is thrashing around and the wind and rain has been torrential," she said.

"People are anxious, it's been a very long time since Vanuatu has seen a cyclone this big."

She said that the government has been putting out constant radio updates urging people to seek shelter in schools and churches, and put in place a telephone relay system to contact areas that have poor radio coverage.

The Vanuatu country director for Save the Children, Tom Skirrow, said he was concerned about families living in shanty town areas.

"Thousands of families are living in makeshift, flimsy houses which will not withstand the immense winds and rain we're expecting. Families need to urgently evacuate to safe buildings or the results could be catastrophic."

Pam is expected to weaken as it moves southwards just off the east coast of the island chain, which has a population of about 246,000.

BDST: 1600 HRS, MAR 13, 2015