Vanuatu 7.3 magnitude earthquake: First reports of damage

Photo: AFP

An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck Vanuatu's capital Port Vila at a depth of 10km on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

At least one person has died and a mass casualty triage has been set up at a hospital in Port Vila, ABC News reported.

It appeared from reports the death toll would likely rise. Bodies could be seen in the capital, AFP reported, and it also collapsed bridges, triggered landslides and severely damaged buildings, a witness in Port Vila said. A local journalist, Dan McGarry, said he had confirmed with police at least one person had been killed.

The ground floor of a building housing the US, French, UK and New Zealand embassies had been crushed under higher floors, resident Michael Thompson told AFP by satellite phone after posting images of the destruction on social media. Footage posted on social media showed the building had buckled windows and collapsed concrete pillars.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT) confirmed the New Zealand High Commission building in Vanuatu had been significantly damaged. They were in the process of contacting staff to check their safety.

Another video showed a building on the city's main street had partially collapsed and crushed vehicles underneath, ABC reported.

Photo: Facebook / Michael Thompson

An image posted to social media appeared to show a landslide had buried part of Port Vila's wharf, ABC said, and witnesses have reported major landslides near the capital.

Vanuatu government websites were offline in the aftermath of the quake, CNN reported.

The Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office's Fidel Zebeta said the country was having aftershocks following the major earthquake, ABC reported. He told people living on coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground.

Photographs showed damaged and collapsed walls and buildings, and a crushed car.

McGarry said it was a "violent, high-frequency shake" that lasted for about 30 seconds, ABC reported. He said there were sirens being heard around the capital, and the damage to the wharf would likely impact relief efforts.

McGarry said there had been some minor aftershocks.

Following the earthquake, the US Tsunami Warning System issued a warning, which it later cancelled, CNN said. There were no tsunami threats reported in New Zealand and Australia.

This photo shows a general view of a severely damaged building housing the embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand after a powerful earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu, on 17 December 2024. Photo: STR / AFP

Red Cross deputy head of delegation for the Pacific, Finau Leveni, told RNZ there were between 20 and 30 staff on the ground in Vanuatu, as well as volunteers. Re-establishing communications was essential to know the scale of damage.

The USGS said casualties were possible, CNN reported, in addition an economic loss between 1 and 10 percent of GDP.

Head of Asia Pacific Regional Office of the International Federation of Red Cross Katie Greenwood told ABC communications had been disrupted and the Red Cross building was damaged.

"I saw some photos that made my blood run cold of the downtown area in Port Vila, of market areas, or shops with roofs that have collapsed," she said.

There were communications outages across the country, the New Zealand High Commission said, while the Australian High Commission in Vanuatu said its communication systems had also been affected.

This screengrab taken from handout video footage posted on the Facebook account of Michael Thompson on 17 December, 2024 shows people inspecting a damaged car trapped underneath a collapsed building in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila after a powerful earthquake hit the Pacific island. Photo: MICHAEL THOMPSON / AFP

MFAT said it was "monitoring the developing situation in Vanuatu".

"There are 37 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Vanuatu," it said in a statement.

"New Zealanders there should follow the advice of authorities. Anyone in need of consular assistance should contact the 24/7 emergency consular line on +64 99 202020."

Director of the NZ National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) John Price said if there are aftershocks, the tsunami threat would be re-assessed.

"We also have our dart buoy network that will trigger if there is any activity at sea, which would indicate a possible tsunami wave. There is no indication that there will be any land threat, that means any threat of tsunami hitting New Zealand land."

He said marine and beach areas were still being assessed for unusual currents.

- RNZ / Reuters / ABC News / AFP