Cyclone Pam rips across island nation of Vanuatu, killing at least eight people

Cyclone Pam razed the island nation of Vanuatu on Saturday, cutting off power supplies, ripping up trees, and killing at least eight people — although officials said the death toll will likely rise into the dozens in coming days. One of the Pacific Ocean's most powerful storms ever, Pam reached wind speeds of 210 miles per hour and blanketed virtually all of Vanuatu, which is made up of 83 islands off the northeast coast of Brisbane, Australia.

"It felt like the world was going to end," Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for the United Nation's Children's Fund, told Reuters. "It was like a bomb has gone off in the center of the town. There is no power. There is no water."

Relief workers from the United Nations are gearing up to assist residents who would find themselves homeless, and lacking basic necessities such as food and water. Australia has also offered to aid in the island nation's recovery.

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