Amid the devastation caused by a violent earthquake two days ago, Ivan Oswald and his staff prepared for lunch on Thursday at the Nambawan Cafe on a scenic stretch of Vanuatu’s waterfront.
Defrosted sausages replaced the usual lunch rush menu for emergency workers digging through the rubble in search of those trapped alive or dead in apartment buildings when a massive, 7.3 tremor struck Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila 48 hours earlier. Search teams were joined by experts arriving in waves from Australia, New Zealand and France on Thursday.
Earthquakes are common for the South Pacific nation, which is home to 80 islands and 330,000 people, but Tuesday’s tremors were not felt by residents before. Centered 30 km offshore, at a depth of 57 km, the earthquake was followed by hundreds of terrifying aftershocks.
The death toll is uncertain
The death toll is still unclear and official information remains scarce.
The government initially confirmed the death of 14 people. As of early Friday, it had confirmed 10 hospitals — but officials expected the number to rise. More than 200 injured people were treated, officials said, but that figure had not been updated as of Wednesday morning.
About 1,000 people have been displaced, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, with the number likely to rise.
On Thursday, telecommunications – though fragmented and patchy – was largely restored after a near-total blackout following the quake. It offered answers to the people of Vanuatu about the extent of the damage and how many people are missing.
After word got around that Nambawan had power and an independent internet source, rescuers, tourists and locals scrambled to charge devices and locate their relatives.
“We’ve had a few tears,” said Oswald, the cafe’s owner. “I can’t help with the rescue, but I can help with this.”
Damage is concentrated in the capital
The details of the damage became clear on Thursday itself. The worst affected area was downtown Port Vila, busy with lunch shops on Tuesday. Landslides occurred in some islands and villages near the epicenter of the earthquake.
There has been extensive damage to infrastructure including hospitals, roads, buildings, two large water reservoirs and gas pipes. Access problems hampered response efforts.
A massive landslide has blocked a seaport, limiting the transport of essential supplies and personnel, the UN humanitarian agency said. Although the airport was opened for relief flights only on Thursday, the runway is believed to be in operation and the issue of resuming commercial services will be discussed from Friday.
But the rain that started on Thursday night has increased the risk of more serious landslides. A low pressure system moving towards Vanuatu poses a low to moderate cyclone threat, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and more rain is expected in the coming days.
That could lead to landslides, erosion and flooding in already vulnerable areas, officials said, as they warned mountain dwellers to evacuate. An urgent environmental assessment was needed to prevent an ecological disaster, a UN update said Friday morning.
Aid agencies fearing flooding and damaged buildings told The Associated Press on Wednesday that their biggest concerns were about drinking water and shelter for those unable to return home. According to the main utility provider, UNELCO, Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation, water service may take two weeks to be fully restored.
The search for survivors and the recovery of bodies focused on two collapsed buildings in the city center, with Australian search experts on Thursday joining locals who frantically dug through the shattered structures for people screaming. After the dramatic rescue of dust-covered survivors that lifted spirits on Tuesday and Wednesday, the mood was gloomy about the prospects of those trapped, residents said.
It was not known how many people were in the buildings – a garage and a surf clothing store. French Ambassador to Vanuatu, Jean-Baptiste Jengen Wilmer, said that French citizen Vincent Goisset was also among the dead.
Two Chinese nationals were also killed, Vanuatu officials said.
Financial blow
Another building, housing embassies for several countries including the United States, France and New Zealand, also collapsed, but no casualties were reported. Military flights evacuated 148 Australian citizens from Vanuatu late on Wednesday.
Hundreds of foreigners waited for commercial flights to resume so they could leave. Glenn Craig, president of the Vanuatu Business Resilience Council, said the tourism-dependent island nation’s early summer earthquake threatened an economic crisis if tourists did not return.
“We’ve had such bad luck,” Craig said, referring to three cyclones in 2023 and the collapse of Vanuatu’s national airline in May. “We were just getting back on our feet and we were really looking forward to a bumper summer.”
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