A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — At least 14 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing widespread damage across the South Pacific island nation. Rescuers worked all night trying to reach some people who were screaming under the rubble.

This image from video shows a landslide near an international shipping terminal in Port Vila, Vanuatu, following a strong earthquake on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. (Dan McGarry via AP)

This image from video shows a landslide near an international shipping terminal in Port Vila, Vanuatu, following a strong earthquake on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. (Dan McGarry via AP)

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The Red Cross announced the toll early Wednesday, citing government sources. Widespread damage to communications and other infrastructure hampered the issuance of official reports. Phone service remained down.

The earthquake occurred just before 1 p.m. at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was centered 30 kilometers west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands inhabited by about 330,000 people. The tsunami warning was canceled less than two hours after the earthquake, which was followed by large aftershocks.

More than 200 people were injured, Katie Greenwood, head of the Fiji-based Pacific Red Cross, said in a post on X. She added that the main hospital in Vanuatu was damaged and the water supply was disrupted.

The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said access to the airport and seaport was “severely limited due to damage to roads,” which could impact aid delivery efforts.

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Residents have been urged to stay away from the coast for at least 24 hours, until tsunami and earthquake monitoring systems are operational again.

Some people are trapped

Videos on social media showed rescue efforts throughout the night for people trapped in buildings, including a three-story building that collapsed to its lower floors.

Amanda Laithwaite said her husband was among rescuers searching for eight people who could hear their screams inside, but their progress was slow.

Her husband, Michael Thompson, wrote on Facebook that three people were pulled alive from the rubble overnight. In one of the videos he shared, there was a woman covered in dust lying on a stretcher. Military personnel and civilians worked with tools and shovels, Thompson said.

Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Vanuatu, told The Associated Press that the country does not have the capacity to deal with a mass casualty event. He had visited Vila Central Hospital, where a video released by the Vanuatu Broadcasting Corporation showed crowds outside.

He said doctors were working “as quickly as possible” at the triage center outside the emergency ward.

Embassies are damaged

A building housing a number of diplomatic missions in Port Vila, including those of the United States, Britain, France and New Zealand, was severely damaged.

The US Embassy's Facebook page said all employees were fine, but the building was closed until further notice. The office was opened in July as part of a US drive to expand its presence in the Pacific to counter China's influence in the region.

New Zealand's Foreign Ministry said officials had identified all but two of its embassy staff. The Australian Foreign Ministry said its employees were fine.

All flights have been stopped

McGarry said a “massive landslide” at the international shipping terminal would likely hamper the recovery. He added that the airport runway was also damaged.

Some airlines in Australia and the Pacific said they had canceled or suspended flights scheduled for Wednesday and were awaiting news on the airport's status.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on X that her government was “preparing to deploy immediate aid to Vanuatu from tomorrow, including urban search and rescue teams and emergency medical teams.”

Vanuatu's location in a subduction zone – where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate moves beneath the Pacific plate – means that earthquakes of magnitude greater than 6 are not uncommon, and the country's buildings are designed to withstand earthquake damage.

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Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.

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