The first Australian crews are on their way to Vanuatu to assist rescuers after the earthquake

The first Australian relief flight carrying supplies and personnel is heading to Vanuatu, where rescuers search for bodies under rubble following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake.

Follow all updates related to the Vanuatu earthquake in our live blog

At least 14 people have died and more than 200 others are being treated in hospital after Tuesday's earthquake, which destroyed buildings, damaged the hospital and caused landslides.

A second magnitude 6 earthquake was reported on Wednesday shortly before Vanuatu's interim Prime Minister Charlotte Salwai declared a seven-day state of emergency.

Australian Government Emergency Centre

Australians in Vanuatu affected by the earthquake can contact the 24-hour Consular Emergency Center by calling +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas or 1300 555 135 from Australia.

Among the confirmed dead were four in a hospital in the capital, Port Vila, six in a landslide, and four in a collapsed building, where the death toll was expected to rise, the Pacific nation's government said in a report on the disaster obtained by AFP.

A Royal Australian Air Force C-17 carrying supplies and personnel departed the RAAF base at Amberley, west of Brisbane, on Wednesday afternoon.

Urban search and rescue teams from the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service are on board and are tasked with assisting local crews in searching debris in Port Vila and surrounding areas.

Rescuers worked all night trying to reach people under the rubble. (ABC News: Lilrose Wellwell)

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said two additional flights were scheduled to depart for Vanuatu today, with timing to be confirmed based on arrival at the runway at Port Vila.

He said the first aid crews heading to Port Vila today would help meet the most urgent needs.

“I really wanted to thank and appreciate the Australian first responders who are leaving Australia today to help the people of Vanuatu after these tragic events,” he said.

“I also wanted to make clear that this is just our initial response. We anticipate that more assistance will be requested and more assistance will be provided.

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Chalmers said a second flight would depart from Fairbairn carrying urban search and rescue personnel from the NSW Fire and Rescue Authority, the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Crisis Response Team.

Another flight will depart from Darwin with the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) deployed through the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre.

Mr Chalmers said the crew's task would be made more difficult due to the pressure the hospital in Port Vila is under and the damage it sustained in the earthquakes.

The earthquake in Vanuatu caused “significant structural damage” to at least 10 buildings in Port Vila, including the main hospital, a collapsed supermarket and diplomatic missions including the US Embassy building, according to the report from the country's National Disaster Management Office. .

The report stated that three bridges and two electricity lines were also damaged.

The government said two major water reserves supplying Port Vila were “completely destroyed and will need to be rebuilt.”

The water network is still under evaluation.

“With so many buildings collapsing, it's really important that we send search and rescue teams out as quickly as possible,” Chalmers said.

Douglas May says his team is among the most capable in the world to respond to this type of work. (ABC News: Ian Catmore)

“Australia and Vanuatu share a very deep and enduring partnership.

“We are family and we will be there for them in their time of need.”

The team is “among the most capable in the world” to carry out the mission

Douglas May, chief superintendent and commander of the Disaster Assistance Response Task Force, said the crew was expected to be “overwhelmed” when they arrived.

He added that people on the ground are doing their best but are “very much looking forward to our arrival.”

There were reports of people missing and trapped in collapsed buildings.

“We have been in contact with people who have been on the ground saving… and we know that… they have many locations saving lives,” he said.

“We expect that once we get there, we will rescue known living victims,” ​​he added.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 116,000 people, about a third of the country's population, were affected by the earthquake.

Mr May said the team was among the most capable in the world to respond to this type of work.

Responding to such disasters is “not something a small island state can do easily,” says Douglas May. (ABC News: Ian Catmore)

“It takes a lot to put together a team of this size and this capacity… and it's not something a small island nation can do easily,” he said.

“[Local teams] They are overwhelmed with managing this type of collapse, the collapse of large, heavy concrete buildings… They are doing their best but they are looking forward to our arrival.

“At the end of the day, we know there are lives to be saved… so this is the first priority, and then it will help locate the deceased, and then it will provide services like water filtration.”

A seasonal worker has just returned home among the dead

A seasonal worker named Valerie has been identified as one of the 14 people who lost their lives in the earthquake.

Rodney Prestia, chief executive of labor hire company ICOMPLY, told the ABC he had confirmed her death with the family.

Valerie has completed two seasons of work in Australia. (Facebook: ICOMPLY)

Valerie had just finished her second season in Australia and had returned to her home country just three days earlier.

“We are truly devastated,” Mr. Prestia said.

“She's an amazing girl.”

The Vanuatu cricket team playing in this week's grand final of the Stanthorpe competition has said that if it wins the tournament it will donate the money to Valerie's young son.

The death toll is expected to rise

Frantic rescue efforts began after the quake struck, and rescuers worked through the night, trying to reach people screaming for help from under the rubble.

The Secretary-General of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society said that the death toll from the earthquake is expected to rise because there are still bodies that have not been recovered.

Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu

While Vanuatu frequently experiences seismic activity, Tuesday's earthquake is considered one of the strongest in recent years. Here's what you need to know.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, the humanitarian organization updated the death toll in Vanuatu to 14.

“There are several numbers floating around,” Dickinson Teefey told ABC News.

“I haven't had a chance to check [latest] Numbers but I know we still have people trapped under rubble or in a landslide.

“So the number is expected to rise anyway.”

Mr Tevye said the Red Cross Society had deployed volunteers to assist the central hospital and assess the extent of damage across the island.

“One of the challenges at the moment is identifying the bodies in the hospital… another challenge [is] “It is not easy to identify some of the bodies.”

ABC/Wiring

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