Vanuatuans are turning to religion in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam

LEAD PIC: Calm after the storm: Children in Saama village in Vanuatu play with balloons that are part of a small relief package arranged by an Australian aid donor after Cyclone Pam ripped through the island nation. Photos: AFP

Celine Jimmy prayed three times before running out of a clubhouse into the darkness to a family home as Cyclone Pam roared through her village in Vanuatu, her four children close by her side.

“The trees were falling down and we jumped over them,” Jimmy, 42, in a recent interview, recalling her race to move to a building with more shelter in Saama village some 76km north of the capital Port Vila.