'It would make you cry' Heartbroken Brit expat reveals Cyclone Pam devastation on Vanuatu

At least ten people were killed in the devastating category five storm which slammed the Vanuatu Islands with 185mph winds – tearing homes apart, tossing boats and levelling bridges.

One spokesman for the Red Cross described the situation, which has left thousands of local people homeless, as "apocalyptic".

Aid workers remain in the dark over the true scale of the damage as the Cyclone triggered a near-total communications blackout in the outer islands, where it scored a direct hit.

Briton Maggie Crawford lives with her Kiwi husband, Mike in the Vanuatu capital Port Vila, the largest city amongst the 85 South Pacific islands.

The 50-year-old, originally from Blackburn, Scotland, today spoke out about surviving the horrifying storm that has wiped-out nearby villages.

"When the storm hit full force it was just incredible," she said. "I've been here for 20 years and we've had a few cyclones, but nothing like this. It's just awful, 180mph winds and it lasted for 30 hours. 

"Apparently it's the biggest cyclone they've had since 1914 and they think it might be the biggest cyclone to ever hit the South Pacific.

"I live in the capital Port Vila, which is on the island of Efate, and we've heard that there's about 70 people injured and about six people missing at sea."

Fortunately for the Briton, her hilltop home survived the initial brunt of Cyclone Pam – and quickly became a refuge centre for stranded locals.

"About midnight was when it really kicked in and sometime around 1:30 in the morning we had about 15 of the local people turn up at our doorstep," she said.

"They had been sleeping in a shipping container because they thought it would be safe but the container blew off its hinges and moved and they all ran out and came up our hill looking for somewhere safe.

"So I ended up with 15 people lying in my spare room on the floor riding it out, it was just crazy.

"The locals still live very basically in tin shacks made of corrugated iron and they had put bricks on the roofs to try and make them stay on."

Ms Crawford, who runs the Vanuatu Big Blue Scuba-Diving centre with her husband, talked about the devastation caused by the Cyclone which yesterday forced the Vanuatu government to declare a state of emergency.

"It's just devastating to see the damage done.

"If you look at how everything is today it's heartbreaking. The before and after would make you want to cry.

"Nobody's really done anything because the whole place is still in shock and we haven't heard any contact from a High Commission or the UK Government or any of its bodies.

"I don't think there's any commercial airlines coming out of the airport but I know there's British aid workers on the ground and as well as the Peace Corps.

"Our scuba shop had half a yacht thrown up out of the ocean and almost wedged into the roller doors at the front of the shop.

"We've endured a number of cyclones over the years, the last big one was in 1987 which was Cyclone Uma.

"That was a category three, but this was rated as a category five."

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed it was working to establish whether any British nationals were affected by the disaster.

She added: "We stand ready to offer consular assistance." 

Britain has already pledged up to £2million in aid to help those affected by the storm.

Meanwhile, a United Nations disaster assessment team is set arrive in Vanuatu in the coming hours.

The Vanuatu Islands are located 1,090 miles off the east coast of Australia close to Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The 85 islands endure frequent tropical storms during the cyclone season between December and April.