LIVE UPDATES: Vanuatu earthquake leaves at least one dead, mass triage of victims carried out in hospital

14 minutes ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 6:23 am

The depth of the earthquake likely caused damage to structures

Professor Megan Miller is an ARC Future Fellow and Director of the AuScope Earth Imaging Program in the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University.

Ms Miller said the epicenter was fairly deep.

“The epicenter of the earthquake was fairly deep, about 57 kilometers, which means there was no tsunami,” she said in a statement to the Australian Science Media Center.

“However, the capital Port Vila is located only 30 km from the epicenter, and the island experienced a very strong shaking, which likely resulted in moderate damage to structures.”

31 minutes ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 6:05 am

A witness says locals need medical support

Warning: This post contains graphic content that may be distressing

Local business owner Michael Thompson said “there are people in buildings in the city” that fell.

“There were bodies when we passed by,” he said.

He said a landslide on one of the roads covered a bus, “so clearly there were some deaths there.”

The quake also caused at least two bridges to collapse, and most mobile phone networks were cut off, Thompson said.

He added: “The support we need from abroad is medical evacuation and skilled rescue, such as people who can work in earthquakes.”

Take a look at the aftermath of the Port Vila earthquake, thanks to VBTC staff on the ground.

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40 minutes ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 5:56 AM

“Not all marine earthquakes generate tsunamis” – Chief Scientist

Adam Pascal, chief scientist at the Center for Earthquake Research's seismological observatory, says it's important to remove warnings if a tsunami is unlikely to occur after the quake.

“Not all large offshore earthquakes generate tsunamis, for reasons such as the depth of the earthquake and the direction of fault rupture.

“It is prudent to issue tsunami warnings if pre-defined criteria are met, and it is also important to remove warnings once there is evidence that the tsunami threat is no longer active,” he told the Australian Science Media Center in a statement.

52 minutes agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 5:44 AM The New Zealand government is “deeply concerned”

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said the New Zealand government was “deeply concerned” about the major earthquake in Vanuatu.

“Our thoughts are with the people and authorities of Vanuatu,” he said in a post on Twitter.

“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation, and are liaising with New Zealand's High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Nikki Symonds, and her team.”

58 minutes ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 5:38 am

Eyewitnesses said that the landslide buried the trucks in stones

An eyewitness named Mark, from Vanuatu Beverages Limited, described seeing a landslide at the Port Vila jetty.

“When the earthquake was shaking, I stood next to my truck and felt it was jumping,” he told Vanuatu's national radio VBTC.

“The truck seemed to be moving that way too, but the shaking sent me into the fence… so I ran to the other side.

“I look up the hill, and the ground is going down.

“I saw the entrance to Efira [wharf company]The ground came down and buried a large truck and containers. In front of us were trucks buried in stones.”

1 hour agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 5:29 AM

'A lot of damage' in Port Vila

Dan McGarry, a journalist currently in Port Vila, said this was an “exceptional earthquake” and was more violent than the type usually seen in Vanuatu.

“There are too many walls coming down, and there's one building that I saw for sure that collapsed in the middle of the city — it was destroyed,” he said.

“There are visible cracks in many buildings throughout the city, old and new. Everyone will have to do a little inventory.”

“There's a lot of damage. It's going to take some time.”

Watch his full interview with ABC News here:

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1 hour agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 5:14 AM

🎥Katie Greenwood, Red Cross member, says images of damage made her “blood run cold”

The head of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the International Federation of the Red Cross, Katie Greenwood, spoke to Channel News earlier, and said that communications had been disrupted in Vanuatu.

It says the Vanuatu Red Cross building was damaged.

“I saw some pictures that made my blood run cold in the downtown area of ​​Port Vila, or the market areas, or the shops whose roofs had collapsed,” she told the news channel.

You can watch Greenwood's full interview here:

Loading…1 hour agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 5:00 AM Mass casualty triage process has been set up at the hospital

Local journalist Dan McGarry said police on the ground confirmed the death of at least one person following the quake.

“It was a violent earthquake, more violent than I have ever seen in my 21 years in Vanuatu,” he said.

“A policeman confirmed that there was at least one death, and I saw a mass triage of victims taking place at the hospital.”

He also confirmed that entire buildings collapsed in the central business district and landslides were seen along the coast near the international shipping terminal in Port Vila.

1 hour agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4:53 AM

Penny Wong says DFAT is monitoring the situation closely

Senator Penny Wong said DFAT is monitoring the situation in Vanuatu closely.

She added: “We are ready to support Vanuatu, as the extent of the damage is assessed.”

She added that Australians who need assistance should contact the Australian Government's 24-hour Consular Emergency Center on 1300 555 135 (from within Australia) or +61 6261 3305 (from abroad).

1 hour agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4:47 AM Australian Embassy in Port Vila evacuated

The Australian High Commission in Port Vila was evacuated during the earthquake.

The Australian Government is still working urgently to ensure that all employees are safe.

1 hour agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4:46 AM

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

Earlier in the blog, we shared a tweet about the UK, US, France and New Zealand Embassy building damaged in the earthquake.

You can watch the video of where the earthquake struck the embassy building here.

Loading… 2 hours agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4:29 AM “Our thoughts are with them”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Australian government was aware of the “major earthquake” in Vanuatu, and his sympathies were with the country's people.

“We are thinking of the wonderful people of Vanuatu, who are now worried, shutting down and dealing with the consequences of the earthquake and tsunami warning as well,” he said.

“Now, this news is relatively new, but we know the wonderful people at DFAT will be providing relevant advice when they can about Australians who may be arrested there.”

“For now, I'm confident I speak on behalf of all Australians when I say we're thinking of the wonderful people of Vanuatu.”

“Our thoughts are with them.”

2 hours ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4:29 AM

In pictures: Earthquake damage in Port Vila

VBTC News shared photos of damage caused by the earthquake in Vanuatu's capital.

You can look at the pictures below.

2 hours ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4:17 AM

Local residents were asked to move to higher ground

Fidel Zepeta, of Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office, said on Tuesday afternoon that the country was experiencing aftershocks following the major earthquake.

Residents living in coastal areas were asked to evacuate to higher areas.

Zebieta said the Vanuatu Geological Hazards Agency's “system” was back up and running after the quake and would issue updates.

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

2 hours agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4:03 AM

CCTV footage shows damage to the car repair shop in Port Vila

A tweet posted by Disasters Daily shows that the earthquake has damaged an auto repair shop – Garage Express in Vanuatu.

2 hours ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 3:47 AM

Video shows more damage in Vanuatu's capital

A tweet was shared of smashed cars under buildings that shook in the earthquake.

Disasters Daily tweeted: “Rescuers [are] “They are trying to reach the trapped people.”

2 hours ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 3:46 AM

Vanuatu government websites are offline

Vanuatu government websites were offline following the earthquake, and phone numbers for police and other public bodies were unreachable.

Currently, the Vanuatu government website remains down.

The social media channels of the country's geological hazards agency and the Prime Minister's Office were not updated.

3 hours ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 3:35 AM

Footage shows damage in Port Vila

A tweet was shared about the damage caused by the earthquake that struck Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila.

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

3 hours agoTuesday, December 17, 2024 at 3:30 AM Tsunami warning reduced

The US National Weather Service has updated its website to say there is no tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat in place for Vanuatu.

3 hours ago Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 3:14 AM

The Red Cross is ready to help

Trained Red Cross volunteers are on the ground in Port Vila ready to help.

Katie Greenwood, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross's regional office for Asia and the Pacific, said volunteers had “prepared relief materials in advance.”

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