A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu on Tuesday, December 17, causing significant damage, a brief tsunami alert and, according to a witness, victims, in this Pacific archipelago particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.
A witness said he saw dead bodies in buildings in the capital Port Vila. Videos on social networks show significant damage to a building housing several diplomatic representations, including the French embassy.
The French embassy destroyed
The French embassy in Vanuatu was “destroyed” but the diplomatic staff is “safe and sound”announced the French ambassador in a message posted on X.
The epicenter of this earthquake detected at 12:47 p.m. local time (01:47 GMT) was recorded at a depth of 43 km at sea, just 30 km west of the capital of this island nation, according to the Institute Geological Survey (USGS), triggering a tsunami warning.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in Vanuatu following this afternoon’s devastating earthquake” et “We are ready to provide our support […] as the extent of the damage is assessed,” said the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs in a statement on X. “Vanuatu is a family and we will always be there in times of need,” she added.
A resident, Michael Thompson, said he had seen dead bodies in the capital. He reported collapsed bridges and landslides caused by the earthquake. “There were people in the buildings downtown, there were bodies when we passed by,” he declared.
The United States Embassy in Port Vila “has suffered considerable damage and is closed until further notice”, also indicated the American diplomatic mission in Papua New Guinea in a press release, on X. According to images published online by Michael Thompson, the earthquake damaged this building, which also houses the French embassy and the representation New Zealand diplomacy.
According to images shared on social media, the earthquake toppled a concrete pillar, cracked a wall and distorted windows in the building.
All embassy staff in Vanuatu are now “safe and recorded”announced his counterpart in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday. “Although the U.S. Embassy sustained significant damage, all personnel were able to evacuate the building”she said in a statement posted on social media.
Tsunami alert lifted
The floor “no longer exists. It’s completely flat. The three upper floors still stand » but dropped in height, described Michael Thompson. “The telephone network was cut” he adds, having contacted the’AFP with a satellite phone.
The earthquake led the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) to issue a tsunami alert, which has since been lifted. “Tsunami waves were observed », indicated the organization in a bulletin, after initially fearing the arrival of waves up to one meter high along certain coasts of Vanuatu.
The risk of aftershocks
According to Behzad Fatahi, a civil and earthquake engineer at the University of Technology Sydney, residents now need to be alert for aftershocks, possibly as devastating as the initial quake. « On s’attend » until the earthquake “caused cracks in masonry walls, instability of foundations and the tilting of vulnerable structures”he explained.
Landslides occurred along a steep hill overlooking the international maritime terminal, according to footage verified by theAFP. The port buildings do not appear to have been damaged.
Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people that straddles the Pacific seismic Ring of Fire, an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches from Southeast Asia to the Pacific Basin.
Vanuatu is ranked among the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, storm damage, floods and tsunamis, according to the annual Global Risks Report.
