Buildings were leveled as a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Vanuatu

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck near Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila, triggering landslides, destroying cars and leveling several buildings, including a complex housing several Western embassies.

Electricity and mobile networks have been disrupted across the country and the full extent of the damage is still unclear, although there are unconfirmed reports of at least one death.

Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Port Vila, said he saw “several people who were visibly seriously injured” outside the hospital’s emergency room.

Vanuatu is prone to earthquakes, but Mr McGarry told the BBC that the earthquake, which struck at 12:47 local time (01:47 GMT), felt like “the biggest… in more than 20 years”.

“The emergency services will be busy for a while. We have limited equipment and capacity here (in Vanuatu),” Mr McGarry said, adding that police at Vila Central Hospital had told him that one person had died and that he expected the death toll to rise.

One of his clips was shown on the Facebook page of state broadcaster VBTC Dozens of people in front of the Vila Central HospitalMany lie on stretchers and wait for treatment.

Michael Thompson, director of adventure company Vanuatu Jungle Zipline, told AFP he saw bodies lying on the road.

“Several buildings collapsed in the city. There is a major rescue operation underway to evacuate anyone who may be alive from the building,” Thompson said in a separate video posted to Facebook.

“I thought the ceiling (of our house) was going to collapse straight away,” Mr Thompson’s wife Amanda told the BBC.

“We often have earthquakes here, but not like this. The house has huge cracks everywhere, sliding glass doors are broken.

“We are now feeling strong after-tremors, each one making us nervous as we run out the door into the open air,” she said.

However, Mr McGarry added that the people of Vanuatu would “get through” the recent disaster.

“The people of Vanuatu face natural disasters every year. It’s in our blood. We will get through this too, although not without some suffering,” he said.

The buildings damaged included the United States Embassy, ​​the United Kingdom Embassy, ​​the French Embassy and the New Zealand High Commission, all housed in the same complex.

U.S. officials said the building suffered “significant damage” and would remain closed until further notice.

The United States Geological Survey reported at least four aftershocks around Port Vila in the two hours after the initial earthquake – with magnitudes between 4.7 and 5.5. The first earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km.

Authorities in neighboring New Zealand and Australia said their countries were not at risk of a tsunami.

Australia also said it “stands 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,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong wrote on X.

New Zealand said it was “deeply concerned” and was monitoring the situation. “Our thoughts are with the people and authorities of Vanuatu,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago of about 80 islands, lies in a seismically active area and is prone to frequent large earthquakes and other natural disasters.