7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Vanuatu, Flattening Buildings

The capital of Vanuatu, Port Vila, has been struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3, which has caused landslides, crushed cars, and flattened many buildings, including a complex that houses multiple western embassies.

The power and cell networks across the country have been knocked off, and the full amount of the destruction is still unknown; however, there are claims of at least one death that have not been confirmed.

An individual who lives in Port Vila and is a journalist named Dan McGarry stated that he seen “several people who were visibly, seriously injured” outside of the emergency area of the hospital.

Despite the fact that Vanuatu is prone to earthquakes, Mr. McGarry stated to the BBC that the earthquake, which occurred at 12:47 local time (01:47 GMT), “Emergency services are going to be busy for a while as a result of the earthquake.” Mr. McGarry stated that the tools and capabilities available to us here in Vanuatu are restricted. He also mentioned that the police at the Vila Central Hospital informed him that one person had passed away, and he anticipates that the number of fatalities will continue to grow.

One of the videos that was uploaded to the Facebook page of the state broadcaster VBTC showed scores of people waiting outside of the Vila Central Hospital. Many of them were resting on hospital gurneys while they awaited treatment.

In an interview with the AFP news agency, Michael Thompson, director of the Vanuatu Jungle Zipline adventure firm, stated that he had witnessed dead laying in the streets.

In the vicinity of the town, there are a number of buildings that have collapsed. In a separate video that was uploaded to Facebook, Mr. Thompson provided the following statement: “A large-scale rescue operation is currently underway in order to clear out people who may still be alive inside the building.”

Amanda Thompson, Mr. Thompson’s wife, expressed her concern to the BBC, saying, “I thought the ceiling [of our house] was going to come right down.”

This area is prone to earthquakes, although not to the magnitude of this one. The mansion is riddled with enormous cracks all over its exterior, and the sliding glass doors are shattered.

“We are feeling a lot of after shakes now, each one nervously makes us as we run out the door to open air,” she explained to me.

On the other hand, Mr. McGarry made the statement that the most recent catastrophe was something that the people of Vanuatu will “get through.”

Every year, the people of Vanuatu are forced to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters. We have it in our blood. As for us, we will make it through this as well, albeit not without experiencing some pain,” he continued.

The archipelago of Vanuatu, which is comprised of approximately 80 islands and is situated in the South Pacific, is situated to the west of Fiji and thousands of kilometers to the east of northern Australia.

Because of its location in a seismically active region, the country is prone to experiencing regular and significant earthquakes as well as other types of natural catastrophes.It was described as “the biggest one… in more than 20 years” .