article_snippet: (CNN)Tropical Cyclone Pam had already been battering Vanuatu's capital for hours when the River Prima suddenly flooded the River Prima banks.
article_snippet: Fortunately, Sam Upan's had sent Sam Upan's family away before the storm to a shelter in the center of the capital, Port Vila.
article_snippet: Other families all across this tropical town are facing similar difficulties in the aftermath of the storm.
article_snippet: But Vanuatu's also one of the poorest nations in the Pacific, and many of Vanuatu 260,000 inhabitants live in flimsy houses built of thatch or metal sheets.
article_snippet: Those vulnerable homes were dealt a fearsome blow over the weekend by Cyclone Pam, one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall.
article_snippet: In the capital, Port Vila, residents were still reeling from the storm's impact.
article_snippet: Many residents said it was the worst storm that Many residents can remember.
article_snippet: And that's in a Pacific nation that's regularly hit by cyclones.
article_snippet: Officials say Pam destroyed or badly damaged 90% of the houses in Port Vila, as well as flooding parts of the hospital and trashing schools and churches.
article_snippet: Port Vila is more than 1,770 kilometers (1,100 miles) northeast of Brisbane on Australia's east coast, and some 2,200 kilometers north of Auckland, the closest city in New Zealand.