Catastrophic damage feared in tiny Vanuatu after Category 5 Cyclone Pam

The eye of Cyclone Pam is visible in this water vapor satellite image on March 13, 2015.



It is not easy for a lumbering, powerful tropical cyclone to score a direct hit on a tiny island nation like Vanuatu. The country, made up of 83 separate islands, is strung from northwest to southeast about 1,000 miles east of Australia. Most cyclones blow past it, or hit in a weaker state.

But not