A magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit near Port Vila, Vanuatu, causing widespread damage and multiple casualties.
Initial reports said the quake struck on Tuesday at a location 37km (22.9 miles) from the capital at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles). Later reports placed the depth of the quake at 43km (26.7 miles), which was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location.
Footage posted on social media showed buckled windows and collapsed concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign embassies in Port Vila, including those of the US, France, New Zealand and the UK, Reuters news agency reported.
Vanuatu state broadcaster VBTC reported one person had died after being trapped in a collapsed building with witnessed saying the earthquake had caused more casualties.
“There are people in the buildings in town,” Port Vila resident Michael Thompson told AFP news agency by satellite phone. “There were bodies there when we walked past.”
The US Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, said the US Embassy in Port Vila “sustained considerable damage” and would be closed until further notice. It added that all staff were “safe and accounted for”.
Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Vanuatu, said the quake was the biggest he had witnessed in 20 years.
In posts on social media, McGarry described the quake as a “mass casualty event”, and confirmed the death of one person with Vila Central Hospital, which has set up a triage centre outside the emergency ward.
Massive landslides near our international shipping terminal. A lot of digging out ahead. This is going to impact our ability to respond. pic.twitter.com/dpgyK8tcpf
— Dan McGarry (@VanuatuDan) December 17, 2024
Vanuatu government websites were offline in the aftermath of the quake and phone numbers for the police and other public agencies did not connect. Social media channels for the country’s geohazards agency and the prime minister’s office have not been updated.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu said it had observed waves after the quake but later lifted the threat of tsunami for neighbouring islands, including Fiji, the Kermadec Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to the country. Authorities in New Zealand also said there was no tsunami danger.
