A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu and there are fears of deaths World news

A massive 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck the coast of Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific, leaving several buildings damaged along with witnesses who claimed to have seen “corpses” lying in the streets.

Off the coast of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake occurred.

The island nation's main city, Port Vila, is located 30 kilometers (10 miles) west of the epicenter of the 57 kilometers (35 miles) deep quake.

A tsunami warning was issued after the quake, with waves up to one meter (three feet) high expected in some areas of Vanuatu, but the warning was quickly lifted by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, Vanuatu's official websites were down, and phone lines to police and other government offices were cut. But it was not immediately clear whether this caused any damage. Neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the country's geological hazards agency updated their social media accounts.

Bodies are lying in the street

After the strong earthquake, eyewitnesses reportedly saw bodies lying in the street. The ground floor of a building housing the US and French embassies was crushed beneath the upper floors, resident Michael Thompson told AFP via satellite phone after photos of the devastation were posted on social media.

The news agency quoted Thompson as saying: “There are people in buildings in the city. There were bodies when we passed by.”

He added that a landslide on one of the roads covered a bus, adding that “it is clear that there were some deaths there.”

Thompson, who runs a ziplining company in Vanuatu, said the quake also caused at least two bridges to collapse and flattened the ground floor of a concrete building housing diplomatic missions.

“This is no longer there. It is completely flat. The top three floors are still standing but they have fallen,” he said.

The earthquake damaged the embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and New Zealand.

Fidel Zepeta of Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office reported Tuesday afternoon that the country was hit by 5.5 magnitude aftershocks from the same place.

Residents of coastal communities were advised to move to higher ground.

According to Zepeta, the Vanuatu Geological Hazards Agency's “system” is back up and running after the quake and will provide updates.

“A precautionary message directed to everyone: please move away from coastal areas to higher ground.”

Michael Thompson, a local resident who shared photos of the damage on social media, told AFP via satellite phone that the basement of the building that houses the US and French embassies had been crushed beneath the upper floors.

“There are people in buildings in the city. There were bodies when we passed by,” Thompson said. “It is clear that there were some deaths there,” he noted, referring to a bus covered in landslides on a road.

According to Thompson, who owns a zipline company in Vanuatu, the quake also destroyed at least two bridges and demolished the ground floor of a concrete structure housing diplomatic offices.

“That's not there anymore. It's completely flat. The top three floors are still standing but have fallen. They're in the process of initiating a rescue operation. The support we need from the outside is medical evacuation and skilled rescue, of sorts.” “People who can work in earthquakes,” he said.

“If there was anyone there at the time, he's gone,” he added.

Thompson shared a video, confirmed by AFP, showing emergency vehicles and uniformed rescue workers repairing a structure with an outer roof that collapsed onto several parked cars and trucks.

The video showed the city's streets filled with shattered glass and the rubble of destroyed buildings.

A video shared on the website

Cars buried under buildings shaken by the earthquake were tweeted.

The US Geological Survey warned of tsunami waves on some coasts of Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands inhabited by about 330,000 people. Waves could reach 0.3 meters to 1 meter (1 to 3 feet) above tide level, the Associated Press reported.

The low-lying atoll country includes several islands three feet above sea level.

In addition, the USGS has issued warnings to several neighboring Pacific island nations, including the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea, for tsunami waves that would reach less than 0.3 m (1 ft) above tide level.

Authorities in the two Pacific countries, Australia and New Zealand, confirmed that their countries are not at risk of a tsunami.

The Australian Government is aware that a “major earthquake” has occurred in Vanuatu, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and extends his sympathies to the people of that country.

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 37 New Zealanders were listed as residents of Vanuatu, although it did not clarify their status.

The low-lying Vanuatu archipelago, home to 320,000 people, lies along the seismic Ring of Fire, an arc of high tectonic activity that extends across the Pacific Basin and across Southeast Asia. As such, earthquakes are frequent there.

When it comes to earthquakes, storms, floods and tsunamis, Vanuatu is among the countries most at risk, according to the annual Global Risks Report.

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