The death toll from the violent earthquake that struck the Vanuatu archipelago in the Pacific Ocean yesterday, Tuesday, rose to 14 dead and about 400 injured, while rescue operations and searches continued for people still trapped under the rubble.
The earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, struck Port Vila, the capital of the archipelago, which consists of about 80 islands. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 116,000 people, or about a third of the archipelago’s population, were affected by the earthquake.
The Radio and Television Corporation showed footage of people lining up to obtain fuel and basic goods this morning, and rescue efforts continued in one of the collapsed buildings, where people were trapped under the rubble.
Footage posted on social media platforms also showed vehicles crushed under rubble, rocks scattered across a highway and landslides near the international shipping terminal in Port Vila.
Concrete columns in a building housing foreign missions in the capital, including the American, British, French and New Zealand embassies, collapsed as a result of the violent earthquake, which was followed by numerous aftershocks at night, one of which reached a magnitude of 6.1.
Given the damage to the hospital in Port Vila, the United Nations said that tents had been erected outside it to accommodate the influx of patients, noting also that telecommunications service was intermittent and that the two main water tanks were damaged.
The wounded were transported to the hospital in the capital by trucks. Television images showed wounded people lying outside on stretchers or in wheelchairs.
Curfew and assistance
Interim Prime Minister Charlotte Salloway said that the National Disaster Committee declared a state of emergency and imposed a 7-day curfew in the most affected areas, and requested international assistance.
The major neighbors responded to this call, as Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said that two military planes will take off for Vanuatu this morning with a medical assistance team and another for search and rescue.
New Zealand, located to the southwest of Vanuatu, also said it would send a plane to check whether planes could land in Vanuatu, where the international airport remains closed.
The French ambassador announced in a post on “X” that the French embassy in Vanuatu was “destroyed” but that the diplomatic staff was “fine.” The French Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that France stands “by the Vanuatu authorities” and is ready to “contribute to relief operations” if requested to do so.
The US diplomatic mission in Papua New Guinea also said in a statement on X that the US embassy in Port Vila “suffered significant damage and is closed until further notice.”
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