A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the island of Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing massive damage and issuing a short warning of a possible tsunami, while an eyewitness reported human casualties in the Pacific archipelago, which is vulnerable to natural disasters.
An eyewitness told Agence France-Presse that he saw bodies in buildings in the capital, Port Vila, while video clips on social media showed severe damage to several buildings.
According to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter of the earthquake, which was detected at 12:47 local time (01:47 GMT), was recorded at a depth of 43 kilometers below sea level and only 30 kilometers west of the island’s capital, which led to a warning being issued. Tsunami occurrence.
Michael Thompson, a resident of Port Vila, told Agence France-Presse that he saw bodies in the capital. He added that the earthquake led to the collapse of bridges and caused landslides.
“There were people in the buildings downtown, and there were bodies when we passed by,” he said.
The US diplomatic mission in Papua New Guinea stated, in a statement on the “X” platform, that the US Embassy in Port Vila “suffered serious damage and was closed until further notice.”
According to photos published by Thompson on the Internet, the earthquake caused damage to this building, which also houses the French embassy and the New Zealand diplomatic mission.
According to photos circulated on social media, the earthquake caused a concrete column to fall, a wall to crack, and the windows in the building to be distorted.
Tsunami warning lifted
Thompson said the ground floor “no longer exists.” It is completely flattened. The upper three floors are still standing, but their height has been reduced.
Thompson, who was contacted by AFP via satellite, explained that “the phone lines were cut.”
The earthquake prompted the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami warning, which was later lifted, as waves reaching a height of one meter were feared along some coasts of Vanuatu, according to a bulletin issued by the center.
Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago with a population of 320,000 that lies on the Pacific Seismic Ring of Fire, an arc of intense tectonic activity that extends from Southeast Asia to the Pacific Basin.
Vanyatu is ranked among the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, storms, floods and tsunamis, according to the annual Global Risks Report.
