Vanuatu earthquake: Rescue teams in New Zealand head to the earthquake-stricken country as the search for survivors continues

As the search for trapped people continues, New Zealanders are among several countries sending help. Picture: AFP/New Zealand Defense Force/Sergeant Maria Eves

New Zealand emergency workers from the Defence, Fire and Emergency Forces are joining the race to rescue those trapped under collapsed buildings in Port Vila after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu.

There are fears that some may remain trapped under landslides as well.

The death toll rose to 14 on Wednesday, while at least 200 were being treated for injuries.

The Chinese ambassador told Reuters that two Chinese citizens were among the dead.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced this morning that there were concerns about two New Zealand embassy staff who had gone missing overnight but were safe.

International response

Interim Prime Minister Charlotte Salloway said the National Disaster Committee declared a state of emergency and imposed a seven-day curfew in the worst-hit areas, Reuters reported.

The US Agency for International Development said it would send a team to Vanuatu, where it is holding relief supplies at its pre-positions in Port Vila.

The Australian government said a disaster response team of 64 people and two dogs for urban search and rescue operations, as well as the Australian Federal Police, will arrive on Wednesday.

The French ambassador to Vanuatu, Jean-Baptiste Jangin Filmer, said that a French military helicopter arrived from New Caledonia with satellite communications and military engineers on board.

Port Vila International Airport will be closed to commercial airlines for 72 hours, to allow medical and emergency aircraft to land, Vanuatu Airports CEO Jason Rakau told VBTC.

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.

Members of the New Zealand Defense Force prepare to depart for Vanuatu this evening. Picture: New Zealand Defense Force/Sergeant Maria Eves

New Zealand is sending specialists to help

The Defense Forces began an airlift of emergency workers, equipment and supplies to Port Vila.

Today, the Air Force carried out a reconnaissance flight over key infrastructure sites such as the port and the city's airport.

The crew members are spending the night in Fiji and will undertake another monitoring flight tomorrow.

Images taken from the plane will be used to help authorities understand the extent of the damage.

A Royal Australian Air Force Hercules aircraft departed Wainuapai this afternoon, carrying urban search and rescue personnel, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff and equipment for Vanuatu.

The defense says a second Hercules plane is scheduled to leave early tomorrow.

New Zealand Fire and Emergency Services is sending 34 urban search and rescue personnel following a request from MFAT.

Their focus will be on conducting search and rescue operations in support of the local emergency management agency.

Rescue workers at the site of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, on December 18, 2024. Photo: AFP

The number of casualties is expected to rise

Dan McGarry, a journalist in Port Vila, told Checkpoint that an industrial forklift normally used to lift large containers had been used to slowly raise the collapsed building.

“Otherwise we will have people walking and crawling over the wreckage, listening for sounds and signs of life and examining the wreckage very carefully. It is very dangerous work… so it will go slowly,” he added.

He says six people died in a very large landslide on the road leading to the international shipping terminal. He says it can be seen from about a kilometer away.

“It's extensive and I don't think we've gotten a full count of there yet. There's a huge amount of debris on the side of the road. There's one stone the size of my house lying on the tarmac in the station area.”

They did not know the number of missing people due to poor communications, but he said that the Disaster Management Office expected the number of victims to rise in the coming days.

Kiwi Stu McEwen, who has lived in Vanuatu for nearly 20 years, says Port Vila looks like “a bit of a bomb site”.

“There are search and rescue operations and people are there with excavators. They have pulled out a few more people alive [today]”That's a good thing, there are still a few missing.”

Rescuers search a damaged building for anyone trapped after the 7.3 magnitude earthquake. Photo: Supplied/Vanuatu Police Force

McEwen was due to fly to the Philippines, arriving from Port Vila today, but his flight was cancelled.

He told Checkpoint when the quake struck at lunchtime yesterday, he was doing some last-minute crafts before his going away party.

“I was changing the doorknob downstairs when it hit me, so I had to hold on to the door and had trouble standing up, just the noise and the violent shaking, glasses falling, everything falling. It was like that, yeah, it was like that.” chaos.”

He added that one person died when a large rock fell on their car in a landslide on Wharf Road.

“And another person died, around the same time, and the other one was rescued through the roof of the car. So Wharf Road is still a mess, and we're talking huge boulders out there.”

With the peak tourist season approaching, McGarry said people who had planned to spend holidays in Vanuatu were “likely to be disappointed this Christmas”.

“The entire downtown is off limits now.”

Water pollution and aftershocks increase stress

Eric Dorber, head of UNICEF's field office in Vanuatu, told RNZ that the increase in diarrhea cases this morning was a sign that people did not have access to safe water.

The lack of public amenities, including running water, stable electricity supply and communications, creates problems in organizing emergency response, especially with coordinating supplies from abroad, Dorber said.

He is particularly concerned about water shortages for children.

Aftershocks continued to hit Vanuatu, with at least 18 tremors shaking the country overnight and more throughout the day.

A large 6.1 magnitude tremor struck this morning. New Zealander Glenn Craig spoke to Morning Report's Ingrid Hipkiss when the quake hit.

Craig says people are on edge, but most of the serious damage appears to be concentrated in Port Vila.

As aftershocks continued in the island nation of 330,000 people, footage posted on social media showed cars crushed under rubble, rocks scattered on a highway and landslides near the international shipping terminal in Port Vila.

National broadcaster VBTC showed people queuing for fuel and necessities as the main supermarket in Port Vila closed.

Landslides caused by the Vanuatu earthquake. Photo: Dan McGarry

A difficult time for Ni-Vanuatu workers in New Zealand

Bay of Plenty kiwifruit company Seeka says it is supporting 100 fruit pickers in Vanuatu who are helping with summer pruning to connect with their families back home.

Some workers in New Zealand to help with summer pruning of vines are taking time off work, said Shelley Aitken, director of people and culture.

“They are obviously a bit shocked by the news; they are very concerned about their families and homes in Vanuatu,” Aitken said.

“Some of them are taking the day off just to be together.

“We are working with them at the moment just to try to make contact with their families at this point to find out information about their whereabouts.”

-RNZ/Reuters

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