Earthquake rocks Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, deaths feared, U.S. embassy damaged
A powerful earthquake struck the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Tuesday, destroying buildings in the capital, Port Vila, including embassies of the United States and other countries. A witness told AFP that the body was seen in the city.
Dan McGarry, a reporter with the Vanuatu Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, told Reuters that police said at least one person had died and the injured had been taken to hospital.
“This is the strongest earthquake I have experienced in 21 years of living in Vanuatu and the Pacific Islands. I have seen many big earthquakes, but never one like this,” he said.
According to the United States Geological Survey, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred near the coast of Efate, the main island of Vanuatu, at 12:47 noon local time, with a focal depth of 35 miles.
The ground floor of the building housing the US, French and other embassies was crushed beneath the higher floors, resident Michael Thompson told AFP by satellite phone after posting images of the damage on social media.
“That’s gone. It’s completely flat. The top three floors are still holding on, but they’ve fallen off,” Thompson said.
“If anyone was there at the time, they’re gone.”
Thompson said the U.S. Embassy was on the first floor, but that could not immediately be confirmed.
One photo shows extensive damage to the building:
STR/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea posted on social media that the United States has closed the embassy until further notice, citing “considerable damage” to the embassy. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this earthquake,” the embassy said.
A statement from the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the New Zealand High Commission, which is located in the same building, had suffered “significant damage”, adding that “New Zealand is deeply concerned about the severe earthquake in Vanuatu and the damage it has caused. “Caused. “
Thompson, who runs a zipline adventure company in Vanuatu, said: “There were people in the buildings in town. There were bodies there as we walked by.”
He said a landslide on a road submerged a bus, “so obviously someone died.”
The quake also caused at least two bridges to collapse and most mobile networks were cut off, Thompson said.
“They are just starting to carry out rescue operations. We need support from overseas, including medical evacuation and skilled rescue workers, people who can carry out rescue operations in earthquakes,” he said.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
Video footage posted by Thompson and verified by AFP showed uniformed rescue workers and emergency vehicles working on a building whose exterior roof collapsed, crushing many parked cars and trucks.
Video showed the city’s streets littered with broken glass and other debris from damaged buildings.
Sydney pharmacist Nibhay Nand, who operates across the South Pacific, said he had spoken to staff in Port Vila who said most of the shops there had been “destroyed” and other nearby buildings had “collapsed” “.
“We are waiting for everyone to go online to understand how devastating and traumatic this will be,” Nande told AFP.
A tsunami warning was issued after the quake, with waves up to three feet expected in parts of Vanuatu, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center quickly lifted the warning.
Vanuatu is a low-lying archipelago with a population of 320,000 that straddles the Ring of Fire, an arc of intense tectonic activity that runs through Southeast Asia and the Pacific basin. Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu.
Vanuatu is listed as one of the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, storm damage, floods and tsunamis, according to the annual World Risks Report.
