The UN says at least 24 people are confirmed dead in cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu, including a one-week-old baby and four foreigners.

The official death toll is expected to rise once the situation becomes clearer on more remote islands in the scattered archipelago in the South Pacific.

Some 3,300 residents are known to be sheltering in evacuation centres after their homes were swept away when Cyclone Pam hit at the weekend.

Estimates by aid agencies put the number of homeless at anything up to 130,000 people.