Vanuatu faces imminent food shortages as accounts emerged of huge damage days after one of the fiercest cyclones on record hit landfall. Communications between many of Vanuatu's 80 islands, most only accessible by boat, were still down after Cyclone Pam swept through the region, and Prime Minister Joe Natuman said it would be at least a week before authorities had a better sense of the destruction. It comes as the parents of an 18-year-old Adelaide girl, who was volunteering on the island of Pentecost, revealed she is yet to make contact with them four days after the deadly cyclone hit. Scroll down for video . The family of  Ally Trueman, 18, who was volunteering on the island of Pentecost, revealed she is yet to make contact with them four days after the deadly cyclone hit . People grieve as they transport the body of 20 year-old Eddy Willy in the back of a vehicle to his burial in the island of Tanna . Children look on from outside their ruined home on the island of Tanna . Ally Trueman, who had taken a gap year to teach on the island, last made contact with her parents on Friday when she sent a text message to say she was seeking shelter from the cyclone. With 24 people so far confirmed dead, the scale of the disaster became clearer with the first teams of aid workers reaching Tanna island, home to 30,000 people. It is some 200 kilometres (124 miles) south of the capital Port Vila, itself badly damaged. Heartbroken families have started returning from evacuation centres across the mainland to find their homes flattened and their belongings strewn across the street. Aid and rescue efforts have been thrown into chaos with communication lines down across the mainland. However, Ally's mother Leanne Trueman is not giving up hope. 'We know the communications are down, and they have to get those up first, but it is really hard,' Leanne Trueman told The Advertiser. People on the island of Tanna comes to terms with their loss after the devastation of tropical Cyclone Pam . Lana Silona prepares food with her son Costello in front of their ruined home on the Tanna island . Members of the Yaohnanen tribe on Tanna, Vanuatu, hold photos portraying their revered 'god' Prince Philip . 'Every day after something like that it just gets worse; they run out of water, they run out of food. Ally's village has just one generator.' The United Nations said there were at least 3,300 people sheltering in 37 evacuation centres around the country. UNICEF has estimated that 60,000 children have been affected by the cyclone and virtually all schools were closed. Former Channel 10 television director Adam Boland, who lives in Vanuatu with his partner Kenny Ang, said it was possible there could be more scenarios like Ally's because the country was so widespread. 'I'm now standing on main street of Port Vila and phones are dropping out every few minutes. I can't imagine how hard it is to find out what's happening in remote islands,' Mr Boland told Daily Mail Australia. 'I think the crucial thing to remember is Vanuatu is a country of 80-plus islands. We're in Port Vila where bridges have been washed away and there's villages that have been totally flattened. 'Concrete homes have basically evaporated and a lot of these people have been left with nothing. A father and son stand in the ruins of their home in Port Vila, Vanuatu, after the cyclone hit . Aid and rescue efforts have been thrown into chaos with communication lines down across the mainland and its outer islands due to the cylone that's already claimed 24 lives . 'Some of the stories from the other islands are horrific. It's a developing country, so it wasn't in a position to deal with something this big in the first place.' The Australian couple were forced to seek shelter with Mr Boland's mother near Port Vila last week and haven't been allowed back to their island home as it is still deemed unsafe. 'Our island is completely cut off. People who are there say there's broken glass everywhere from the windows being broken and there's no power or water,' he said. 'We know some of the smaller islands were hit harder and they have fewer resources. It would have been very hard to endure.' About 2,000 people are living in evacuation centres in Port Vila where around 90 per cent of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, according to UNICEF. About 2,000 people are living in evacuation centres in Port Vila where around 90 per cent of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, according to UNICEF . Aid has begun to flow into Port Vila, where aid organisations and government resources have converged in a 'well-coordinated effort' to help locals get back on their feet . Samuel and his father Phillip were pictured sifting through the ruins of their family home on Monday several days after the category five cyclone hit . 'A lot of people didn't realise the cyclone would make a direct hit because we told it would (divert),' Mr Boland said. 'The storm itself was terrifying - the power went off really earlier. Everyone bunkered down for eight hours and by the time we got up and walked outside, it was mind boggling. 'I'm looking right now at an outer island - it's normally so lush like a scene out of Jurrasic Park. But now it looks like the Australian outback... there's no leaves on the trees.' Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is trying to verify reports a South Australian woman is missing in cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu. Ms Bishop said she was aware of the unconfirmed reports and the government was desperately trying to work out whether they were true. 'The challenge for us is that communications have been down,' she told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday, adding a better assessment was likely with more Australian personnel now on the ground. Cyclone Pam left 90 percent of homes in Port Vila damaged or destroyed . Locals have been rallying together with chainsaws to help clear roads blocked by fallen trees .
So far 24 people have been confirmed dead on the Pacific archipelago . First teams of aid workers reached Tanna island, home to 30,000 people . Ally Trueman, 18, from Adelaide hasn't contacted her parents in four days . 'We know the communications are down... it is really hard,' says her Mum . Families have returned from evacuation centres to find homes flattened . About 90 percent of buildings in Port Vila are damaged or destroyed . Aid and rescue efforts are still in chaos with communication lines down .