A race to find survivors after the devastating Vanuatu earthquake

Rescuers in Vanuatu are still under pressure to reach trapped victims following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, on December 17. The shockwaves caused widespread damage in the small South Pacific nation, which has a population of 334,000 and is located 2,600 kilometers northeast of Sydney.

Rescue workers inspect a damaged building in Port Vila on December 19, 2024 [AP Photo/Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]

The powerful earthquake occurred 30 kilometers off the western coast of Efate, the main island of Vanuatu, and at a depth of only 50 kilometers. It caused damage to many buildings and residences in and around Port Vila. There were several aftershocks, the latest of which was a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that shook buildings on the country's main island at 2.30am on Sunday.

Aftershocks of at least magnitude 5 are typical of an earthquake sequence – a series of smaller earthquakes that follow the initial earthquake. For an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 7, there could be ten times as many aftershocks at magnitude 5, ten times as many again at magnitude 4, and so on. This pattern can last for weeks to several months, or even longer.

About 80,000 people were directly affected. The official death toll was revised down from 14 to nine, although it is expected to rise again as people remain trapped under rubble and landslides. Vanuatu President Nike Vurupatavu later said the death toll was “about 16”. Hundreds of others were injured, overwhelming hospital services.

Interim Prime Minister Charlotte Salloway declared a state of emergency for seven days. The curfew includes from 6 pm to 6 am, with only essential services allowed to operate. Stores and gas stations are only open at certain times, and people rush to obtain food supplies, water and fuel. The capital's airport finally reopened on Sunday, allowing commercial flights to resume.

In Port Vila, there are several locations where buildings are reported to be “completely destroyed,” according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Rescuers focused on two disaster areas; A four-storey building housing a supermarket, hotel, garage and shopping complex in the Central Business District collapsed into a pile of concrete.

They are unlikely to find anyone else alive in the collapsed building that housed the US, French, UK and New Zealand diplomatic missions.

Any buildings still standing suffered significant structural damage. The main pier is closed due to a major landslide. Two water tanks supplying Port Vila were completely destroyed causing major water shortages and will require reconstruction. Telecommunications, which remains fragmented and incomplete, were restored after two days of almost complete power outage following the earthquake.

Local residents are working to extract people from under the rubble. New Zealander Shell Percy, a paramedic and interim chief executive of Vanuatu's emergency services, told Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that they had managed to rescue seven people from a collapsed building, but described the scene as “absolute carnage”. She said more bodies were likely to be found given that the quake occurred in the middle of the day in the crowded city.

New Zealand engineer Nicholas Brook said that buildings that appear to have “sat down” suggested that some of them had “soft stories” – an ancient practice where the lower floors were weaker than the upper floors, and collapsed more easily while the upper floors remained attached. He also expected the death toll to rise. “It would likely be a huge tragedy,” Brock said.

Clement Chibukolo, director of World Vision Vanuatu, told RNZ on Sunday that international aid was making a difference, but the situation remained serious. Much of the capital remains without electricity and water, and some roads remain closed. He added, “The situation has become increasingly dire, with the possibility of epidemics emerging due to water shortages.”

Residents who spoke to the ABC described how their homes “just collapsed”, leaving them homeless. Some fear returning due to more aftershocks. They said that with their water storage destroyed, there was a “water crisis.” Many of them are living in makeshift tents, while their families remain stuck outside without any facilities in the scorching summer heat.

The situation remains precarious for tens of thousands of children, many of whom have been separated from their families. An estimated 40,000 children need humanitarian assistance according to NGOs such as UNICEF, which says children need shelter, food, health care and access to education.

International defence, medical, search and rescue and disaster response teams from New Zealand, Australia, France and the United Kingdom are now on the ground in Port Vila. Medical supplies and equipment were sent to about 500 families from Australia. Meanwhile, military aircraft evacuated about 568 Australians and more than 100 people to New Zealand.

However, the amount of aid provided by the major powers remains very limited. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the immediate response package presented by Canberra was worth 2 million Australian dollars. It includes a 64-person disaster assistance response team, a medical assistance team and nine federal police.

The French army carried out emergency operations from the colony of New Caledonia, 500 kilometers away. This included the transport of emergency personnel and relief materials including food rations, water and IT equipment. Flights have returned to Noumea carrying evacuees, including a group of shaken New Caledonian schoolchildren.

Wong stressed that aid and rescue missions will be carried out under Franz's tripartite arrangements. The agreement signed in 1992, which includes France, Australia and New Zealand, stipulates the implementation of a policy of systematic coordination between the armed forces of the three countries when they operate in Pacific island countries that are exposed to natural disasters.

Vanuatu is still recovering from the impact of devastating earthquakes and cyclones that affected 80 percent of the population in 2023. However, these events cannot be understood as mere natural disasters. Like other Pacific islands, Vanuatu is poorly developed. According to the Asian Development Bank, 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line of US$1 per day, suffering from a lack of access to basic services, jobs, health care and education.

In cooperation with the United States and France, Australia and New Zealand maintained neocolonial control over the region, keeping the Pacific nations in a state of backwardness and dependency. Throughout the region, social and economic conditions imposed by former imperial powers, including chronic underfunding of basic infrastructure and social services, leave the islands highly vulnerable to and unprepared for recurring disasters.

Atolls and low-lying islands such as Kiribati, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are experiencing more extreme weather events, cyclones, regular flooding, coastal erosion, food insecurity and water pollution. This month, Vanuatu filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice in The Hague, seeking an advisory opinion on laws related to climate change and human rights.

At the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's special envoy for climate change, criticized the Australian Labor government, declaring that as the world's third-largest exporter of fossil fuels, it was “exporting climate destruction abroad, including to Pacific nations such as Vanuatu.” Those who suffer the most devastating impacts of the climate crisis, despite their lesser contribution.

Major powers have long used disasters in the Pacific as military exercises and to strengthen their geostrategic control throughout the region. This has intensified as the campaign to counter China's influence accelerates amid the US-led war campaign. Vanuatu is a crucial element in this matter. China is Vanuatu's largest external creditor after a decade of building infrastructure, while Australia is the largest aid donor.

Last August, Australian officials expressed concern after China handed over a new presidential palace, estimated to cost about 31 million Australian dollars, to the Vanuatu government, joining the list of infrastructure projects funded and built by Beijing. The opening of the palace was preceded by the release of the White Paper on Vanuatu's foreign policy, which reaffirms the status of a “non-aligned” country.

According to the ABC, Canberra expressed concern that China had “pumped money into high-profile projects” and suggested the palace had “offered China opportunities for surveillance and intelligence gathering in Vanuatu” – but provided no evidence.

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