Rescue teams continue to search for survivors after the Vanuatu earthquake

Rescue teams excavate survivors trapped in collapsed buildings in Port Vila on December 18. Photo: Agence France-Presse

There are conflicting reports about the official death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Vanuatu, while rescue teams continue to search for survivors among the rubble.

On 17 December, Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office reported 14 deaths.

She added that the hospital confirmed the death of four people, while six others were killed in a landslide, and four others died in a building collapse.

But on Wednesday, the Disaster Management Office reported that the hospital had confirmed the deaths of only nine people, making no mention of the deaths it had earlier attributed to landslides and collapsed buildings.

On Thursday evening, Vanuatu President Nike Vurupatavu said the death toll was “about 16.”

Among the established figures is that more than 200 people were injured, as the hospital said that many patients were being treated for broken bones.

Meanwhile, Vanuatu Police have urged people to come forward and report missing persons.

Landslide near the main pier in Port Vila. Photo: Development Mode/Facebook via ABC News

Damage and destruction

According to the Vanuatu government's disaster assessment team, most of the damage from the earthquake hit the central business district of Port Vila on the main island of Efate.

This area has been closed to the public and search and rescue operations are continuing.

Any buildings still standing suffered significant structural damage.

The main pier in Port Vila remained closed due to a major landslide.

The two main water reservoirs supplying Port Vila have been completely destroyed and will require rebuilding; The rest of the water network is currently being evaluated.

There is a boil water notice throughout the villa.

Energy and communications

Utility company Unelco is working to restore power and water supplies.

Vodafone Vanuatu has informed its customers that instant messaging on Messenger, Viber and WhatsApp has been restored on its mobile network.

However, voice and video calls across these platforms remained unavailable as of Thursday.

Vodafone said that its team is working hard to solve these problems and fully restore internet services.

Emergency

On Tuesday, President Nikinike Voruparavo declared a state of emergency for a week in the most affected areas.

Police were urging people to adhere to the nightly curfew from 6pm to 6am local time.

They also warned of the increased possibility of opportunistic crimes following the disaster and urged everyone to look out for each other.

Military evacuation

Nearly 100 New Zealanders have been evacuated on a military flight.

The Boeing 757 plane, carrying 93 passengers – almost all of them New Zealanders – left Port Vila shortly before 8pm on Thursday, and was scheduled to arrive in Auckland at around 11pm.

Foreign Affairs staff were planning to meet them upon their arrival and assist with accommodation needs.

The ministry said its emergency call center would operate through the night to contact New Zealanders who remained in Vanuatu and did not rule out further evacuations.

Commercial flights

There were no commercial flights operating to and from Vanuatu.

Local authorities said on Tuesday they would close Bauerfeld International Airport to commercial flights for 72 hours to repair damage and prioritize disaster relief flights.

Passengers booked on a Fiji Air flight to Vela on Thursday have been transferred to 21 December.

Solomon Airlines had also indicated that it would resume its flights to Vanuatu from Saturday.

Virgin Airlines has canceled flights until Sunday, and a Qantas Group spokesperson told the ABC they were monitoring the situation closely.

International aid

International defence, medical, search and rescue teams and disaster response experts from New Zealand, Australia and France are now on the ground in Port Vila.

They were assisting local emergency response teams, which have been working around the clock since Tuesday's 7.3-magnitude earthquake along with local staff at UN agencies and NGOs in Vila.

Time is of the essence for teams scouring the ruins for any sign of survivors.

Evacuations from Vanuatu

The first evacuation flight from Vanuatu to New Zealand was scheduled to depart around 7pm (New Zealand time) on Thursday.

The New Zealand forces said that there were about 86 people evacuated on board the 757 plane, which has a capacity of 200 seats, including New Zealanders and “accredited foreign nationals.”

The plane is scheduled to land in about three hours at either Auckland Airport or the Whenuapai Military Base.

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