A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila on Tuesday, killing at least one person and damaging buildings and cars.
Vanuatu state broadcaster VBTC showed footage of vehicles crushed when a building collapsed on a street lined with retailers. The broadcaster reported that one person was trapped in the collapsed building.
Other footage posted on social media showed boxed windows and broken concrete pillars at a building that hosts foreign missions in the capital, including the US, British, French and New Zealand embassies.
“Our High Commission building, which is shared with the United States, France and the United Kingdom, has suffered significant damage,” a New Zealand foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
Goods are scattered on the ground after a powerful earthquake hit Port Vila, Vanuatu on December 17, 2024, in this screengrab taken from a social media video. Via Tana Plaza Pharmacy/REUTERS
The statement mentions that communication has been disrupted across the country.
According to Dan McGarry, a journalist with the Vanuatu-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, police said at least one person died and the injured were taken to hospital.
“I saw three people seriously injured, waiting for treatment,” he said.
“There is a lot of damage around the city. We’ve got a building that’s been a pancake,” McGarry told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview.
He said that the road connecting Port Vila to the main port was blocked due to landslides. Reuters Unable to immediately confirm casualty figures, Vanuatu officials could not be reached for comment.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). The US Tsunami Warning System canceled the initial tsunami warning for Vanuatu.
Officials in the US, Australia and New Zealand said there was no tsunami threat in their areas.
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