Rescue workers dig for Vanuatu earthquake survivors with no water and death toll unclear

Wellington, New Zealand –

Vanuatu's capital remained without water on Wednesday, a day after reservoirs were destroyed by a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake that wreaked havoc on the South Pacific island nation, with the death toll expected to rise.

The government disaster management office said early Wednesday that 14 deaths had been confirmed, but hours later said the main hospital had confirmed nine deaths. A spokesman said the number was “expected to rise” as people remained trapped in collapsed buildings. About 200 people were treated for their injuries.

The frantic rescue effort, which began in flattened buildings after the quake early Tuesday afternoon, continued 30 hours later, with dozens working through dust and heat with little water to search for those screaming for help from inside. A small number of survivors were recovered from the rubble of buildings in the city center of Port Vila, also the largest city in the country, while others remained trapped and some were found dead.

The almost complete collapse of telecommunications has left people struggling to ensure the safety of their relatives. On Wednesday, some providers began restarting phone service but communications were patchy.

The operating company said that Internet service was not restored due to damage to the submarine cable that feeds it.

The earthquake struck at a depth of 57 kilometers and its epicenter was 30 kilometers west of the capital of Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands inhabited by about 330,000 people. A tsunami warning was canceled less than two hours after the quake, but dozens of large aftershocks continued to shake the country.

It is not clear how many people are still missing or dead, Katie Greenwood, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross in the Asia-Pacific region, told The Associated Press from Fiji.

She added: “We have unconfirmed information coming from people at the search and rescue site and they are fairly confident that these numbers will unfortunately go up.”

The capital's main medical facility, Vila Central Hospital, was severely damaged and patients were transferred to a military camp. Healthcare services, already strained before the quake, were overwhelmed, said Clement Chibukolo, Vanuatu director of Christian relief agency World Vision.

There is no water in Port Vila

While electricity was cut across large areas of Port Vila, water shortages were the biggest fear among relief agencies. The National Disaster Management Office said that two large reservoirs serving the capital were completely destroyed.

Resident Melroy Cainton said people were joining long queues to buy water at stores, but they could only buy two or four bottles at a time. “People aren't really worried about electricity. They're just worried about water,” he said.

Eric Dorber, head of the Vanuatu office, said UNICEF had recorded a rise in cases of diarrhea among children, an indication that they had begun drinking contaminated water. Officials told residents of areas where water was restored to boil it.

Some people are still trapped under the rubble

At least 10 buildings suffered major damage, many of which were in the busy downtown area full of shoppers at lunchtime when the quake struck. An unknown number of people were trapped inside, and Kenton, a resident, said rescuers had to direct their efforts towards where they thought people could be saved.

Michael Thompson, who runs a tour company in Vanuatu, was among the rescuers and posted a video on Facebook of frantic efforts and dust-covered survivors on stretchers along with pleas for people to bring tools and water to the site.

Officials said on Wednesday night that Port Vila appeared to be the worst affected area, but some nearby villages and offshore islands had seen landslides. The government said that three bridges were “at risk of collapsing” due to heavy rains.

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 destroyed, with part of the building splitting open and the first floor leveled to the ground. The windows were crooked and the walls collapsed.

The US State Department said that its embassy employees were fine, but the building was no longer operational. 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 counted all embassy staff. The Australian Foreign Ministry said its employees were fine.

All flights have been stopped

Damage to the port and airport is likely to hamper relief efforts and economic recovery in a country that relies on agricultural exports and tourism. The airport was closed to commercial flights for another 72 hours, starting Wednesday.

But the runway was deemed fit for humanitarian flights by French engineers who arrived by helicopter. Military ships from Australia and New Zealand are scheduled to begin arriving on Wednesday evening, carrying personnel and search and rescue equipment, as well as relief supplies.

Dan McGarry, a journalist living in Vanuatu, said there was a “massive landslide” at the international shipping terminal. The government said the main pier was closed.

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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