A "sizeable and very capable" defence contingent has arrived in Vanuatu, while seasonal workers in Australia are raising money to keep families fed in the wake of last week's twin cyclone disaster.
Speaking to the ABC on HMAS Canberra, Colonel Douglas Pashley said the Australian Defence Force troops were "really excited to be here".
"The priority is to deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief assistance to support the people of Vanuatu," he said.
"Most of these men and women behind me, they were in the field a week ago doing an exercise in Australia, [so] we pulled them out of the field, brought them to Sydney [and] loaded them on.
"We have a sizeable and very capable force here.
"There's a lot we can do and we're just looking forward to working with the people of Vanuatu and to get into it."
HMAS Canberra left Sydney for Port Vila on Sunday with more than 600 Australian Defence Force personnel on board, along with humanitarian supplies.
A small Australian rapid assistance team had already arrived in the country, and Australian aircraft have conducted aerial surveillance of the worst-affected areas.
The twin cyclones destroyed crops and village gardens, sparking concerns of a looming food shortage.
Some remote areas of the country rely on garden produce for food, but communications are still down and many areas are yet to be reached.
In the capital Port Vila, residents are still picking up the pieces and many are without power.
Resident Alan Sovuai said many people's homes had been destroyed and they had nowhere to sleep.
"In my area, we're still cleaning up," he said. "And we'll be cleaning for a long time. It's going slow.
"And I'm concerned about my family [in the regional province of Malampa]. I can't get through to them because the network is down, and I don't know if they're OK."
Seasonal workers dig deep
Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office estimated about 80 per cent of the country's population was affected, including 125,500 children.
In Australia, thousands of kilometres from home, the disaster has touched many ni-Vanuatu people in the seasonal worker community, who are raising funds for families back home.
Team leader Roger Jack Nikipo, from Tanna in Vanuatu's south, works for PLL contractors, picking fruit at Aroona Farms in Renmark, South Australia.
"It's very challenging," he said.
"It's the first time ever we had two cyclones in one week, so it damaged a lot of things — crops, houses — but our families are OK.
"Bananas, taro and other things like cassava are our main crops that we eat to survive, but the cyclone destroyed everything.
"It's the hardest time ever for us in this season."
Mr Nikipo said some crops could take up to a year to regenerate, which was why his team started a fundraising appeal to help families put food on their tables in the meantime.
"It takes about three months for the quick crops, like potatoes, and for the rest it, takes about a year for us to wait and then harvest again," he said.
"Our contractor is helping us to contribute some money to help support my families, like in buying the rice.
"We are very shocked and very proud and thankful in Australia the contractors helped us."
PLL's Leanne Le said they had managed to raise $11,500 so far.
"It's pretty great and it's really overwhelming that you do a good job on the property, and they help you when you request a little donation to help with these terrible cyclones," she said.
Ms Le said the money would buy about 300 bags of rice, which could last two weeks.
"We will try to supply as much as we can so they can have some immediate relief as they wait to replant and harvest their crops," she said.
