Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits Vanuatu, with one reported dead by Reuters

By Alasdair Pal and Kirsty Needham

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila on Tuesday, damaging buildings and cars and killing at least one person.

Vanuatu’s state broadcaster showed footage of vehicles crushed in a building collapse on a street lined with retailers. The station reported that one person was trapped in a collapsed building.

Police said at least one person was killed and injured people were taken to hospital, Dan McGarry, a journalist with the Vanuatu-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, told Reuters in an interview.

“It was the most powerful earthquake I have experienced in my 21 years of living in Vanuatu and the Pacific Islands. I have seen many large earthquakes, never one like this,” he said.

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

Other footage posted on social media showed dented windows and collapsed concrete pillars at a building housing foreign missions in the capital, including the embassies of the United States, Britain, France and New Zealand.

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Papua New Guinea said the embassy in Port Vila had suffered “significant damage” and was closed until further notice.

The New Zealand High Commission building, located next to the US, French and British missions, “suffered significant damage”, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.

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

Reuters could not immediately confirm the death toll because authorities in Vanuatu could not be reached for comment.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).

Half a dozen aftershocks shook Vanuatu after the first quake, USGS data showed.

Some were so heavy they could be felt in Port Vila, McGarry said.

“There was one where we all got back on track. But none of them were anywhere near as bad as the initial shock,” he said.

The US tsunami warning system had previously lifted an initial tsunami warning for Vanuatu.

Authorities in the United States, Australia and New Zealand said there was no tsunami threat to their areas.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was closely monitoring the situation following the “devastating earthquake”.

“We stand ready to support Vanuatu while the extent of the damage is assessed. Vanuatu is a family and we will always be there for each other in times of need,” she said in a statement.