SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Rescuers in Vanuatu on Wednesday continued to search for people trapped after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific nation’s capital Port Vila on Tuesday, killing 14 people, and damaging two reservoirs, foreign embassies and a hospital.
At least 200 people are being treated for injuries at the capital’s main hospital with 14 confirmed deaths, a Red Cross official said on X, citing the Vanuatu government.
“Rescue ops continue to free those trapped after the quake, and attention turns to urgent needs like first aid, shelter, and water,” said Katie Greenwood, Head of the Delegation for the Pacific at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Several aftershocks rattled Vanuatu overnight as the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) reported that an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck the country on Wednesday. The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), the GFZ said.
“Even just two minutes ago, we had another shock … probably wouldn’t even count how many. Loads and loads of aftershocks throughout the night,” Australian Caroline Bird, who manages a resort in Port Vila, told ABC News on Wednesday.
National broadcaster VBTC showed footage of vehicles crushed under the debris of collapsed buildings and boulders strewn across a highway. Drone footage showed landslips near a shipping terminal, while triage tents have been set up outside Port Vila’s hospital to manage the influx of patients.
Caretaker Prime Minister Charlot Salwai has declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew for seven days in the worst-affected areas. International assistance has been sought.
Footage posted on social media showed collapsed concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign missions in the capital, including the U.S., British, French and New Zealand embassies.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was preparing to deploy assistance while New Zealand said it would send a plane to check if aircraft can land in Vanuatu, where the international airport remained closed.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated 116,000 people, around one-third of the country’s population, had been affected by the earthquake.
Australian Mike Thompson, who has been living in Vanuatu for two decades and runs a zip line adventure business there, told ABC News that he had been helping to dig people out of the rubble overnight.
“My daughter turned 20 yesterday; she was at a restaurant … she had a statue fall down on her and you realise how lucky you are to have such a close call,” Thompson said.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney, Lucy Craymer in Wellington and Pretish M J in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Aurora Ellis)
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