Powerful earthquake strikes Vanuatu

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - PORT VILA — A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 hit Vanuatu on Tuesday, damaging multiple buildings, including a complex in the capital Port Vila that hosts the diplomatic missions of Western nations including the United States.

The quake, about 57.1 kilometers (35.5 miles) deep, rocked the Pacific island nation on Tuesday shortly after noon, local time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The 7.3 earthquake was downgraded slightly from its initial magnitude reported by the USGS at the initial time of observation.

At least one person was killed, according to relief agencies, citing preliminary reports from the ground and local media.

It briefly triggered a tsunami alert for parts of the Pacific island nation, but officials said as of 14:14 local time that the threat had passed.

The extent of damage remains unclear.

Multiple social media videos geolocated by CNN showed damage to the red and blue building that houses the US and other Western embassies. One section of the ground floor appears to have partially collapsed, with debris strewn around the US embassy’s crest and several windows shattered.

“The US Embassy in Port Vila has sustained considerable damage and is closed until further notice,” a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea told CNN. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this earthquake and the US government will work closely with our partners in Vanuatu.”

New Zealand’s foreign ministry confirmed to CNN that the building also houses its High Commission office and the embassies of France and the United Kingdom, saying it had “sustained significant damage.”

Vanuatu is home to about 330,000 people over a group of 80 islands.

Katie Greenwood, a Fiji-based regional head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the damage was widespread, including collapsed buildings in downtown Port Vila and crippled infrastructure in provincial areas. Red Cross volunteers were ready to help affected communities, she said.

At least one person had died in a hospital, she added, citing preliminary information from her team on the ground and local media reports.

“For the Pacific, it’s the worst ... I have seen in terms of earthquake damage,” she told CNN.

Michael Thompson, director of the Vanuatu Jungle Zipline adventure company, told AFP news agency that he saw bodies lying in the streets.

"There's multiple buildings that have come down around town. There's a big rescue operation on the way to clear out people who are possibly alive in the building," Thompson said, in a separate video posted to Facebook.

"Most of the communications have gone."

The US geological agency issues damage predictions, known as pagers, for powerful earthquakes.

The present quake triggered yellow pagers -- or a level 2 on a scale of 4 -- on both the estimated economic damage and fatality, USGS said, adding past yellow alerts “have required a local or regional level response.”

“Some casualties and damage are possible, and the impact should be relatively localized,” warned the USGS, adding “estimated economic losses are 1-10% GDP of Vanuatu.”

In total, 73,000 people experienced severe shaking. Of those that experienced severe shaking, 36,000 were people in Port Vila.

Vanuatu government websites were offline in the aftermath of the quake and phone numbers for the police and other public agencies did not connect, the Associated Press reported. Social media channels for the country’s geohazards agency and the prime minister’s office have not been updated.

Initial tsunami warnings were later canceled.

“There is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake,” the National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. But it warned, “minor sea level fluctuations may occur in some coastal areas near the earthquake over the next few hours.”

The US only opened its Vanuatu embassy in July this year, part of a recent ramping up of its diplomatic presence in the Pacific as it competes with China for influence in the strategically vital region.

“The opening of the embassy builds upon our efforts to provide more diplomatic presence throughout the region and to engage further with our Pacific neighbors,” the State Department said at the time.

Authorities in neighbouring New Zealand and Australia said there was no tsunami threat for their countries.

Australia also said it "stands ready to support Vanuatu as the extent of the damage is assessed".

"Vanuatu is family and we will always be there in times of need," Foreign Minister Penny Wong wrote on X. — Agencies