14 deaths were reported after a “violent” event.

Fourteen people have been killed after a massive earthquake struck near Vanuatu yesterday afternoon.

The 7.3-magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 57 km, 30 km west of the capital, Port Vila, at 2:47 pm yesterday, according to the US Geological Survey. The area was hit by a 5.5 magnitude aftershock six minutes later.

Two Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) staff were previously missing after the quake – but at around 11am, Foreign Secretary Winston Peters said those two people had been found and spoken to.

“This means all New Zealand government employees in Vanuatu are safe and accounted for,” he said.

“Our focus today is to get the necessary assistance to Vanuatu as quickly as possible.”

Katie Greenwood, head of the Fiji-based Red Cross regional office for Asia and the Pacific, provided the latest casualty figures overnight.

“The Vanuatu government has reported 14 confirmed deaths and another 200 being treated for infections at the main hospital in Port Vila,” she said on Channel X.

“There are 58 New Zealanders registered as being in Vanuatu, although we expect there are more who are not registered. At this stage, we are not aware of New Zealanders being killed or injured,” MFAT said this morning.

The devastating earthquake caused severe damage in the capital, Port Vila. (Source: Reuters)

The spokesperson added that the ministry had received a “continuing” number of calls about New Zealanders in Vanuatu and was working to provide consular assistance.

Aftershocks have rocked the Pacific island nation since the first quake.

Peters said New Zealand was providing assistance to Vanuatu.

The interior of a damaged building is shown in Port Vila, Vanuatu, following a strong earthquake. (Source: Associated Press)

“Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we support them at this time of great need,” he said. “Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will do everything we can to help.

“A New Zealand military surveillance plane is scheduled to fly over Vanuatu this morning to help assess damage from the earthquake.

“We are also offering to send an urban search and rescue team and relief supplies to Vanuatu later today, once the airport in Port Vila reopens. Emergency medical officers, civil defence, consular and humanitarian officers will also be deployed to New Zealand as part of this operation.”

At approximately 11.15am this morning, an Air Force aircraft was being loaded at RNZAF Base Auckland at Whenuapai.

But a New Zealand Forces spokesman said Hercules' departure was delayed until between 4pm and 5pm today, as staff waited for equipment to arrive.

Air Force aircraft at RNZAF Auckland Base Whenuapai. (Source: 1 News)

Peters added that communications were still severely affected by the earthquake.

“It will take some time to work with Vanuatu on the assistance it needs in the coming days.

“We will continue to evaluate how best to assist New Zealanders in Vanuatu, who are encouraged to follow guidance provided by local authorities,” he added.

“Aftershocks can happen” – SafeTravel

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday: “My thoughts and those of the New Zealand Government are with the people of Vanuatu who today suffered a major earthquake.

Landslide near an international shipping terminal in Port Vila, Vanuatu. (Source: Dan McGarry via AP)

“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation and stand ready to assist.”

Government websites in Vanuatu stopped working following the earthquake.

Port Vila-based journalist Dan McGarry said on Channel X yesterday that the initial quake was “violent” and lasted about 30 seconds.

The 7.3-magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 57 kilometers, 30 kilometers west of the capital, Port Vila, at 2:47 p.m., according to the US Geological Survey. (Source: 1 News)

“We advise New Zealanders in Vanuatu to follow the advice of local authorities at all times,” SafeTravel said. “Aftershocks can occur after large earthquakes.

“We are aware that there is a communications outage in Vanuatu at the moment. This may make it difficult for you to contact your friends/whānau in Vanuatu until communication lines are restored.”

Any Kiwi in Vanuatu requiring urgent consular assistance has been asked to call +64 99 20 20 20.

New Zealanders in Vanuatu have been urged to follow the advice of local authorities and move to higher areas if they feel prolonged or strong earthquakes.

Anyone in the Pacific island nation who was not already registered with SafeTravel was urged to do so.

“Please keep your family and friends in New Zealand informed of your safety and well-being when you are able to, and pass this message along to any New Zealanders who may not be registered with SafeTravel.”

“It's probably the scariest thing in my life.” – Resident

Glen Craig said there was no warning before the tremors started. (Source: Iftar)

Glenn Craig from the Vanuatu Business Resilience Council spoke to Breakfast this morning from the National Disaster Management Office in Vanuatu.

“There is a hardworking team here,” he added. “We're just working on generators right now, and fortunately we have that from Starlink.”

He added that the earthquake was “terrible.”

Craig added: “We get a lot of earthquakes here, we're fairly vulnerable to them and we're used to them – but this gave no warning.”

“I was in the biggest building having lunch with my wife and about two seconds later, the quake had just hit us, so we managed to get to the door before the real tremors started and then we were pushed almost downstairs, evacuating as much as we could.

“It was probably about 30 seconds and it was probably the scariest thing of my life.”

He's experienced hurricanes and tsunami warnings before. He added that this earthquake was like standing on a rollercoaster.

“It was a very intense match and we were lucky it didn't last longer because it was short but very aggressive.

“There was obviously a lot of panic and everyone was trying to get out, especially those living in the high-rise buildings.”

“There was a lot of screaming. It wasn't good,” Craig said.

He added that aftershocks continued throughout the night.

“It is a once-in-a-generation event and we are doing our best.

“Unfortunately, it will be a mass casualty event because we don't know how many people are in these buildings that you don't have access to.”

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