Australian geothermal company is in the area exploring for resources
March 16 update: A UN team in Vanuatu says 24 people are confirmed dead and 3,300 have been displaced by Cyclone Pam, with communication to outlying islands still down.
Vanuatu's President Baldwin Lonsdale has called for international help after Cyclone Pam ripped through the Pacific archipelago.
Describing it as a "calamity", he said he spoke with a "heavy heart".
Aid agencies say the cyclone, which veered off its expected course on Saturday and struck populated areas, has caused "complete devastation".
Save the Children says eight people are confirmed dead but it is feared dozens more may have been killed.
Chloe Morrison, an emergency communications officer with World Vision who is in Port Vila, said on Saturday that streets were littered with roofing, uprooted trees and toppled power lines.
Australian company Geodynamics Ltd is in the exploration phase for the 8 MW Takara geothermal power project north of Port Vila on Efate Island in Vanuatu.
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