WELLINGTON – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck off Vanuatu killed at least 14 people, injured hundreds more and caused widespread damage across the South Pacific island nation, officials said early Wednesday.
Frantic rescue efforts got underway after the quake hit early on Tuesday afternoon, and rescuers worked through the night, trying to reach people screaming for help from under the rubble.
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The earthquake hit at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was centered 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands home to about 330,000 people. A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake, which was followed by large aftershocks.
The Red Cross said early Wednesday that 14 had died, citing government information. Widespread damage to telecommunications and other infrastructure impeded the release of official reports and phone service remained down.
More than 200 people have been injured, said Katie Greenwood, Fiji-based head of the Red Cross in the Pacific, in a post on X. Vanuatu's main hospital has been damaged, and there is no power or water.
Clement Chipokolo, World Vision's country director for Vanuatu said Vila Central Hospital was already under strain before the quake and was overwhelmed by the deluge of patients when he visited on Tuesday.
“They definitely are not coping,” Chipokolo told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The U.N. humanitarian office said access to the airport and sea port was “severely limited due to road damage." Assessments of damage at the airport were to be undertaken Wednesday.
Some people are still trapped
Videos posted on social media show efforts through the night as rescuers try to reach people trapped in buildings, including a three-story structure in a busy downtown area that collapsed onto its lower floors. The building was full of lunchtime shoppers when the quake hit.
Amanda Laithwaite, whose husband was among those searching for people, said they could hear yelling inside but progress was slow.
Three people were pulled alive from the rubble overnight, her husband, Michael Thompson, wrote on Facebook. In one video he shared, a dust-covered woman is seen lying on a gurney. Army personnel and civilians are seen working with tools and shovels.
A local garage owner helping with the rescue efforts, Stéphane Rivier, told The Associated Press he estimated that 20 people had died, with 50 still missing.
“I worked all night,” he said. “We got out two survivors and three dead."
"There are still three people alive in the rubble,” he added.
The three still trapped are believed to be two women and a child, Dickinson Tevi, the head of Vanuatu Red Cross, told Radio New Zealand. Others were stuck in a building near the airport, Tevi said.
The quake damaged embassies
A building housing a number of diplomatic missions in Port Vila — including those of the United States, Britain, France and New Zealand — was significantly damaged, with a section of the building cleaving off and flattening the first floor. Windows were buckled and walls crumbled.
The U.S. Embassy’s Facebook page said all staff were safe, but the building was closed until further notice. The office opened in July as part of a push by the U.S. to expand its Pacific presence to counter China’s influence in the region.
New Zealand’s foreign ministry said officials have accounted for all the embassy staff. Australia’s foreign ministry said its employees were safe.
Vanuatu's prime minister speaks
Prime Minister Charlot Salwai told the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation in the first official comments to emerge following the widespread telecommunications failures that a state of emergency has been declared and that a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was imposed in the worst-hit areas.
Only essential services would operate, Salwai said. He urged officials to work to restore water and phone service.
Residents were earlier advised to stay away from coastlines for at least 24 hours, and until tsunami and earthquake monitoring systems were operational again.
All flights are grounded
McGarry said a “massive landslide” at the international shipping terminal and damage at the airport was likely to impede recovery in a country dependent on agricultural exports and tourism.
Some airlines in Australia and the Pacific said they had cancelled or paused flights scheduled for Wednesday.
A New Zealand military surveillance plane was due to fly above Vanuatu on Wednesday to assess the damage. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his country hopes to send aid and equipment later Wednesday, when the airport was cleared for use.
“With communications still badly affected as a result of the earthquake, it is going to take some time to work through with Vanuatu what assistance it needs in the days ahead," Peters said.
Australia was sending two air force transport planes carrying a medical team and a search and rescue team to Vanuatu on Wednesday, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
France's military is also mobilizing to help, Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu posted on X.
Vanuatu's position where the Indo-Australia tectonic plate moves beneath the Pacific Plate means earthquakes greater than magnitude 6 are not uncommon, and the country's buildings are intended to withstand quake damage.
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Associated Press writers Mayuko Ono in Tokyo and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.