Vanuatu Cyclone Pam: British mother's fears for missing daughter

British mum has not heard from daughter since Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu

A British mum has told of her panic as she has not heard from her volunteer 18-year-old daughter on Vanuatu since before Cyclone Pam hit the island.

Pauline Alpin, 54, said she got a text from her daughter Emma Venier last Thursday as she prepared for Cyclone Pam to hit the South Pacific island.

The 185mph storm has killed at least 24 people and left over 3,300 homeless.

Emma has been volunteering on the island as part of her gap year. She has been teaching at local schools and was due to stay in Vanuatu until July. The volunteering project saw her based in Ambae, one of the nation's outer islets.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Pauline, from Norwich, said: "I have to assume that Emma is OK because I don't want to think anything else.

"She let me know that they were boarding up windows and were on red alert. As the days go on, I'm just getting worse and worse.

"I should be at work but I can't go because I just can't concentrate."

She added that she has been keeping in touch with her other parents whose children are volunteering on the island.

It is thought the outer islands were not as badly affected as the central areas and the capital Port Vila. But phone lines and radio are down.

Vanuatan president Baldwin Lonsdale said the storm had "wiped out" all recent development, and his country, one of the poorest in the world, will have to rebuild "everything".

According to the Mirror, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in close contact with the local authorities in Vanuatu.

"We have not yet been asked but we stand ready to provide consular assistance to any British people who need our help.

"Any British person who has been affected by the cyclone can get in touch with us on 020 7008 1500."

Visit Unicef to donate to the relief effort in Vanuatu.