A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits the capital, Port Vila

Building collapses and landslides after the 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, triggering landslides, crushing cars and leveling multiple buildings, including a complex housing a number of Western embassies.

There are unconfirmed reports of deaths but the full extent of the damage remains unclear, as electricity and mobile phone networks remain down across the country.

Dan McGarry, a journalist who lives in Port Vila, said hospital authorities had informed him that at least one person had died. He had seen “several people who were clearly seriously injured” outside the emergency unit.

Vanuatu is prone to earthquakes, but McGarry told the BBC that the quake appeared to be “the largest… in more than 20 years.”

The earthquake occurred at 12:47 local time (01:47 GMT) on Tuesday.

“Emergency services will be busy for some time. We have limited equipment and capacity here,” McGarry said, adding that police at Vila Central Hospital had told him one person had died, and the death toll was expected to rise. .

One clip from the Facebook page of state broadcaster VBTC showed dozens of people outside Vila Central Hospital, many of them lying on hospital stretchers awaiting treatment.

Michael Thompson, director of Vanuatu adventure company Jungle Zipline, told AFP news agency that he saw bodies lying in the streets.

“There are several buildings that have collapsed all over the city,” Thompson said, in a separate video posted on Facebook. “There is a major rescue operation on the way to extract people potentially alive in the building.”

“I thought about the ceiling [of our house] Thompson's wife, Amanda, told the BBC: “He was about to go down.”

“We often have earthquakes here, but not like this. The house has big cracks all over it, and the sliding glass doors are broken.

“We are now feeling a lot of aftershocks, each one making us nervous as we run out the door into the fresh air,” she said.

But Mr McGarry added that the latest disaster was something the people of Vanuatu “will get over”.

“People in Vanuatu deal with natural disasters on an annual basis. It is in our blood. We will get through this too, although not without some suffering,” he said.

Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago of about 80 islands in the South Pacific, is located west of Fiji and thousands of kilometers east of northern Australia.

The country is located in a seismically active zone, and is prone to frequent large earthquakes and other natural disasters.

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The earthquake destroyed cars and flattened several buildings

Western embassies are among those affected

The US Embassy, ​​British High Commission, French Embassy, ​​and New Zealand High Commission were among the damaged buildings located in the same complex.

US officials said the building sustained “severe damage” and would be closed until further notice. They added that all employees in the building were evacuated safely.

Separately, several Australian airlines canceled their flights to Port Vila, due to damage to the airport.

Australian airline Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas, canceled a flight scheduled for Wednesday morning from Sydney to Port Vila, citing “earthquake activity in Vanuatu and reports of potential damage to Port Vila airport infrastructure.”

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The US Embassy was among the damaged buildings

The USGS reported at least four aftershocks around Port Vila — ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 5.5 — in the two hours after the first quake. The first earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

Authorities in neighboring New Zealand and Australia said there was no threat of a tsunami in their countries.

Australia also said it “stands ready to support Vanuatu as they assess the extent of the damage.”

“Vanuatu is a family and we will always be there in times of need,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong wrote on X.

New Zealand said it was “deeply concerned” and monitoring the situation. Foreign Minister Winston Peters said: “Our thoughts are with the people and authorities of Vanuatu.”

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