Vanuatu 7.3 magnitude earthquake: First reports of damage

A local journalist says there are "multiple deaths" following a magnitude-7.3 quake in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

It struck the capital a depth of 57.1km on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

At least one person has died and a mass casualty triage has been set up at a hospital in Port Vila, ABC News reported.

It appeared from reports the death toll would likely rise. Bodies could be seen in the capital, AFP reported, and it also collapsed bridges, triggered landslides and severely damaged buildings, a witness in Port Vila said. A local journalist, Dan McGarry, earlier on Tuesday said he had confirmed with police at least one person had been killed.

In his latest updates on social media, McGarry said there were more dead, though police would not confirm how many.

"Bottom line: It's bad. People died, and many more were hurt. Some have lost their home, and many will find it hard to get back to work. Repairs will likely stretch for years, as they always do in the wake of disaster."

He said there were unconfirmed reports the airport runway was damaged.

"But people are pulling together as only Vanuatu knows how. We will get through this. We always do."

McGarry is a member of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and his reporting has been cited by ABC.

The ground floor of a building housing the US, French, UK and New Zealand embassies had been crushed under higher floors, resident Michael Thompson told AFP by satellite phone after posting images of the destruction on social media. Footage posted on social media showed the building had buckled windows and collapsed concrete pillars.

The US Embassy in Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) tweeted people who were in the US embassy building were "safe and accounted for".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT) confirmed the New Zealand High Commission building in Vanuatu had been significantly damaged. They were in the process of contacting staff to check their safety.

Another video showed a building on the city's main street had partially collapsed and crushed vehicles underneath, ABC reported.

An image posted to social media appeared to show a landslide had buried part of Port Vila's wharf, ABC said, and witnesses have reported major landslides near the capital.

Katie Greenwood, a Fiji-based regional head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told CNN the damage was widespread, including collapsed buildings in downtown Port Vila and crippled infrastructure in provincial areas. Red Cross volunteers were ready to help affected communities, she said. At least one person had died in a hospital, she added, citing preliminary information from her team on the ground and local media reports.

"For the Pacific, it's the worst … I have seen in terms of earthquake damage," she said.

A pharmacy was been badly damaged, with the floor covered in items from off the shelves, ABC said.

Vanuatu government websites were offline in the aftermath of the quake, CNN reported.

The Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office's Fidel Zebeta said the country was having aftershocks following the major earthquake, ABC reported. He told people living on coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground.

Photographs showed damaged and collapsed walls and buildings, and a crushed car.

McGarry said it was a "violent, high-frequency shake" that lasted for about 30 seconds, ABC reported. He said there were sirens being heard around the capital, and the damage to the wharf would likely impact relief efforts.

McGarry said there had been some minor aftershocks. Half a dozen hit following the initial quake, USGS data showed.

The road connecting Port Vila to the international shipping terminal was blocked by landslides, he added.

Following the earthquake, the US Tsunami Warning System issued a warning, which it later cancelled, CNN said. There were no tsunami threats reported in New Zealand and Australia.

Red Cross deputy head of delegation for the Pacific, Finau Leveni, told RNZ there were between 20 and 30 staff on the ground in Vanuatu, as well as volunteers. Re-establishing communications was essential to know the scale of damage.

The USGS said casualties were possible, CNN reported, in addition an economic loss between 1 and 10 percent of GDP.

Australia's High Commissioner to Vanuatu Max Willis said he was "working closely with the Vanuatu Government on an assistance operation". Australian Senator Penny Wong told ABC she did not have any information about whether Australians were injured in Vanuatu or not, but "there are Australians inevitably who either work there or are on holiday there".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on X (formerly Twitter) they were "thinking of our friends and neighbours in Vanuatu after the devastating earthquake that struck their home this afternoon. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist the people of Vanuatu in any way we can".

Head of Asia Pacific Regional Office of the International Federation of Red Cross Katie Greenwood told ABC communications had been disrupted and the Red Cross building was damaged.

"I saw some photos that made my blood run cold of the downtown area in Port Vila, of market areas, or shops with roofs that have collapsed," she said.

There were communications outages across the country, the New Zealand High Commission said, while the Australian High Commission in Vanuatu said its communication systems had also been affected.

Recognised Seasonal Employer workers in New Zealand have sent shipping containers with aid to their families after previous natural disasters. Sources told RNZ Pacific talks were underway to do something similar for Vanuatu.

MFAT said it was "monitoring the developing situation in Vanuatu".

"There are 37 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Vanuatu," it said in a statement.

"New Zealanders there should follow the advice of authorities. Anyone in need of consular assistance should contact the 24/7 emergency consular line on +64 99 202020."

Director of the NZ National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) John Price said if there are aftershocks, the tsunami threat would be re-assessed.

"We also have our dart buoy network that will trigger if there is any activity at sea, which would indicate a possible tsunami wave. There is no indication that there will be any land threat, that means any threat of tsunami hitting New Zealand land."

He said marine and beach areas were still being assessed for unusual currents.

One in 100-year quake

Fabio Capitanio from the Monash University's School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment told ABC the quake hit a "very well-known subduction zone, where the Indo-Australia tectonic plate subducts beneath the Pacific Plate".

He compared its strength to the well-known Mt St Helens eruption of 1980.

"The recurrence time of these earthquakes is estimated to be around every 100 years, and although we have evidence of shorter recurrence times elsewhere, for example southeast Asia, the Vanuatu record is consistent with this estimate, although this cannot be used as a future projection."

- RNZ / Reuters / ABC News / AFP