The deputy chairman of Vanuatu's natural disaster committee has launched a stinging attack on NGOs in the cyclone-struck nation.

New Zealand aid worker Andrew Finlay takes Kirsty Johnston around the island of Tanna, where the destruction is wholesale.

The threat of disease from dirty water has affected "absolutely everybody" in Vanuatu in the wake of Cyclone Pam.

A state of emergency remains in place in the Chatham Islands, where ex-cyclone Pam is still causing rough weather.

The first aid planes arrived to find scenes of "utter destruction" on the Vanuatu island of Tanna, where residents are in desperate need of emergency supplies.

Desperate villagers on an outlying cyclone-flattened Vanuatu island have marked out a "H" for help to attract the attention of planes flying over.

The first aid planes arrived to find scenes of "utter destruction" on the Vanuatu island of Tanna, four days after taking a direct hit from Cyclone Pam.

The Chatham Islands has felt the brunt of ex-tropical Cyclone Pam overnight and more damaging winds and sea surges are expected throughout the day.

Families in Vanuatu have returned to their homes only to find the nightmare of Cyclone Pam isn't over.

Chatham Islands Mayor Alfred Preece said a state of emergency was declared yesterday to ensure all residents were prepared.

Cyclone-torn Vanuatu is in desperate need of food, clothing, medicine and basic shelter - and a full recovery operation could cost hundreds of millions.

Live updates of Cyclone Pam's impact in New Zealand and the aftermath in devastated Pacific Island nations.

Volunteer Service Abroad said it could still not account for four Kiwi volunteers in Vanuatu.

New Zealanders in Vanuatu have been drafted in to help at the capital's main hospital after it was ravaged by Cyclone Pam.

Kiwi Kylie Steel was in Port Vila when the cyclone struck. After the cyclone passed she went in search of friends. Here's her story.

Dozens are feared dead on Vanuatu and up to 10,000 are homeless in the wake of Cyclone Pam.

Tropical Cyclone Pam had been downgraded to a category 4 cyclone. A severe weather warning has been issued for northern and eastern parts of the North Island, where heavy rain and south to southeast gales were expected from this evening through to Tuesday.

Organisers of the NZ surf lifesaving championships in Gisborne blasted through the penultimate day's programme yesterday in a bid to keep ahead of the storm expected to slam into the area.

Many residents in Vanuatu were forced to hunker down for a second night in emergency shelters after venturing out yesterday to find their homes damaged or blown away, aid workers say.

NZ newlyweds have spent the last night of their honeymoon bunkered in a room with 230 other scared tourists as Cyclone Pam lashed Vanuatu.

Tropical cyclone Pam has been upgraded to category 3 and weather experts fear it could reach supercyclone levels as it slowly moves towards Vanuatu.

A low currently sitting in the Pacific, which is likely to be upgraded to a tropical cyclone, will have some impact on Northland later this week, weather boffins have predicted.

Thunderstorms are making their way down the country bringing heavy rain, particularly to the capital where several houses have been flooded.

Several centimetres of snow had fallen in New York City last night, as the region shutdown and settled in for a wild 24 hours.

Kiwis in New York and up the east coast of the United States were last night hunkering down as one of the biggest storms in history bore down on the region.

Severe thunderstorms may hit Dunedin, North Otago and Clutha this afternoon bringing heavy rain and hail as large as 20mm to some areas, MetService warns.

A powerful typhoon destroyed homes and flooded low-lying coastal villages in the Philippines, forcing a million people to flee to safety and reportedly leaving at least three dead.