In addition, Pam is tied with Orson, Monica, Marcus and Fantala for having the second strongest ten-minute maximum sustained winds in the Southern Hemisphere.

The next day, Pam's sustained winds peaked at 250 km/h (155 mph) as the storm moved through Vanuatu, passing near several constituent islands and making direct hits on others.

On 14 March, Pam's winds began to slowly weaken, but its pressure dropped further to a minimum of 896 mbar (hPa; 26.46 inHg) before rising shortly afterwards.

Early in Pam's history, a damaging storm surge impacted Tuvalu, prompting a state of emergency declaration after 45 percent of the nation's residents were displaced.

In Vanuatu, all emergency centres were activated and relief personnel were put on standby with Pam assessed as having the potential to be one of the nation's worst tropical cyclones.

Catastrophic damage occurred as the storm moved through the archipelago, particularly in Efate, the location of the Ni-Vanuatu capital of Port Vila; and the Tafea islands of Erromango and Tanna.

The second system was first noted as Tropical Disturbance 11F by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) on 6 March, while it was located about 750 kilometres (465 mi) to the north-east of Honiara in the Solomon Islands.

[15] That day, Pam became quasi-stationary east of the Santa Cruz Islands before resuming its prior southwesterly motion towards the end of 11 March.

[16][17] The storm's eye continued to warm as its cloud tops cooled such that at 12:00 UTC, the FMS assessed Pam to have reached Category 5 intensity on the Australian cyclone scale.

[18] Six hours later, the JTWC estimated that the storm reached Category 5-equivalent intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale as Pam was east of Penama.

[26] Shortly after, the storm's eye faded away and Pam's low level circulation became displaced from its associated thunderstorms, signalling a rapid weakening phase.

[27] Later on 15 March, both agencies discontinued issuing advisories as Pam entered a phase of extratropical transition while affecting northeastern New Zealand.

[28] Bavi and Pam caused severe weather including swells, heavy rain and strong winds to be reported within Kiribati between 8–11 March.

[30] Acting director of the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office, Peter Korisa, warned that should Pam strike the capital of Port Vila it could be worse than Cyclone Uma in 1987 which killed 50 people and caused US$150 million in damage.

Sune Gudnitz, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that Pam was indeed a worst-case scenario for Vanuatu.

[45] Prior to the formation of Cyclone Pam, flooding from king tides, which peaked at 3.4 m (11 ft) on 19 February 2015, caused considerable road damage across the multi-island nation of Tuvalu.

[54] Early in the Cyclone Pam's development, it produced torrential rains and gale-force winds over the Solomon Provinces of Malaita, Makira-Ulawa, and Temotu.

[60] Although not in the direct path of Pam, officials in Fiji warned residents in low-lying areas of potential flooding from the system's outer rain bands.

On the whole, material damages were relatively light, with a few fallen trees, a few roofs blown out, and only 26 people in need of emergency housing (18 on Maré and 8 on Lifou).

As perceived by the population of the Loyalty Islands, the worst damage was in fact the loss of the yams harvest, which will affect numerous communities of both Maré and Lifou, both as a means of subsistence for the coming season and as a cultural apparatus for ceremonies like weddings.

[70] Civil Defense officials in New Zealand issued severe weather warnings, that the remnants of Cyclone Pam could bring unprecedented damage to much of the northeastern coastal areas of the North Island.

[80] Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, has called for insurance schemes to help the Vanuatu government respond to natural disasters.

[81] United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted that climate change leads to increased risks of natural disasters.

[82] While attending the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale requested international assistance for his people.

[84] On 15 March, Australia confirmed that supplies for up to 5,000 people would be sent via two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.

A Lockheed C-130 Hercules was also deployed with emergency evaluation personnel and Department of Foreign Affairs officials to determine specifics on aid required.

[79] On 15 March a CASA-235 transport plane was dispatched from the New Caledonian Armed Forces airbase carrying engineers to repair the water supply, a Red Cross technician and spare parts to enable the reopening of the airport to scheduled flights.

[39] Save the Children's Vanuatu director, Tom Skirrow, stated that the logistical challenges presented with Cyclone Pam greatly exceeded that of Typhoon Haiyan which left over 7,350 dead or missing in the Philippines during November 2013.

[84][93] Owing to the severity of damage in the nation, the local chapter of the Red Cross enacted an emergency operation plan on 16 March which would focus on the needs of 3,000 people.

[49] Prime Minister Sopoaga stated that Tuvalu appeared capable of handling the disaster on its own and urged that international relief be focused on Vanuatu.