Australian teams deployed to Vanuatu to help in earthquake aftermath
Australian teams have been deployed to Vanuatu to help with the mammoth search and rescue mission following two powerful earthquakes.
The death toll from the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that rocked the island at midday yesterday climbed to 14 today.
Army teams joined locals in search for survivors in Port Vila, where damage is widespread and affected infrastructure, but access was challenging due to repeated aftershocks.
A view of destruction as search and rescue operations continue following a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake. (Getty images)
“The city is completely out of electricity, it is completely out of water,” World Vision Vanuatu country director Clement Chipokolo said.
A specialist medical team that left Darwin to assist in the aftermath of the earthquakes touched down tonight.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said search and rescue teams would work with local authorities to help those trapped in collapsed buildings after the “devastating” quake and the medical team would treat the injured.
National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre executive director Professor Len Notaras described the mission as “one of our most critical western Pacific deployments in recent times”.
A 64-person disaster response team includes paramedics, firefighters and engineers.
An aircraft from the RAAF base at Amberley in Queensland was also deployed to the nation with search and rescue equipment.
Australian emergency crews are on the ground in Vanuatu following the devastating earthquake. (Penny Wong/X)
Meanwhile Australian commercial flights into Vanuatu were grounded.
Jetstar today suspended flights and said in a statement it is monitoring the situation, with an update expected soon.
The airline operates four weekly flights between Sydney and Vanuatu’s capital and anyone who has booked flights between now and January 5 has been urged to contact Jetstar.
Qantas yesterday diverted a flight heading from Brisbane to Noumea and the return flight was cancelled.
Australian emergency crews are on the ground in Vanuatu following the devastating earthquake. (Penny Wong/X)
The next flight is scheduled for December 20, however the airline said it will assess the situation.
The flight suspension follows reports of damage to Port Vila’s airport.
About 200 people have arrived at Port Vila’s Central Hospital to be treated for injuries so far, a doctor told local media.
Vanuatu was rocked by a second earthquake this morning, even as rescuers shoveled away rubble to reach trapped survivors.
Following yesterday’s magnitude 7.3 quake that caused widespread devastation, Geosciences Australia confirmed that a second aftershock hit at 5.17am AEDT this morning.
The quake was measured at magnitude 6 and struck at a depth of 72km.
9News understands the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of several Australians present in the region affected by the first quake.
The Red Cross reported a death toll of 14 early today, citing government sources.
Widespread damage to communications and other infrastructure has impeded the release of official reports. Phone service remained down.
Aid is on the way from Australia, including medical assistance and an urban rescue team.
At least 14 people are dead following a devastating earthquake in Vanuatu. (AP)
A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake.
With communications still down hours later and official information scarce, witness accounts of casualties began to surface on social media and through patchy phone calls.
The earthquake happened at just before 1pm at a depth of 57 kilometres and was centred 30 kilometers west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu – a group of 80 islands that is home to about 330,000 people.
It was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location, with tremors continuing throughout the afternoon and evening.
A landslide near an international shipping terminal in Port Vila, Vanuatu. (AP)
Hundreds of people have been injured, said Katie Greenwood, Fiji-based head of the Red Cross in the Pacific, in a post on X.
Vanuatu’s main hospital has been damaged and the water supply has been compromised, she added.
The UN humanitarian office said access to the airport and sea port were “severely limited due to road damage,” which could affect efforts to deliver aid.
Residents were urged to stay away from coastlines for at least 24 hours — and until tsunami and earthquake monitoring systems were operational once again.
People were trapped beneath the rubble. (AP)
Some people are trapped
Social media videos showed rescue efforts through the night for people trapped in buildings, including a three-storey structure that collapsed onto its lower floors.
Amanda Laithwaite said her husband was among rescuers searching for eight people they could hear yelling inside, but their progress was slow.
Three people were pulled alive from rubble overnight, her husband, Michael Thompson, wrote on Facebook.
In one video he shared, a dust-covered woman lay on a gurney.
Army personnel and civilians worked with tools and shovels, Thompson said.
A building is seen damaged in Port Vila. (AP)
The country does not have capacity to cope with a mass casualty event, Vanuatu-based journalist Dan McGarry told The Associated Press.
He had visited Vila Central Hospital, where video shared by the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation showed crowds outside.
Doctors were working “as fast as they could” at a triage centre outside the emergency ward, he said.
Embassies are damaged
A building housing a number of diplomatic missions in Port Vila — including those of the US, Britain, France and New Zealand — was significantly damaged.
The US Embassy saidd all staff were safe, but the building was closed until further notice.
“The building hosting the US Embassy Port Vila chancery is not viable for operations,” it said in a statement.
“We are currently assessing options for continuing our work in Vanuatu. All US Embassy staff, as well as Peace Corps staff and volunteers, are safe and accounted for.”
The office opened in July as part of a push by the US to expand its Pacific presence to counter China’s influence in the region.
New Zealand’s foreign ministry said officials have accounted for all but two of its embassy staff. Australia’s foreign ministry said its workers were safe.
The earthquake happened at just before 1pm at a depth of 57 kilometres. (AP)
All flights grounded
McGarry said a “massive landslide” at the international shipping terminal was likely to impede recovery. The airport’s runway is also damaged, he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on X her government was “preparing to deploy immediate assistance to Vanuatu from tomorrow, including urban search and rescue and emergency medical teams.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was looking to confirm the impact of the earthquake and investigate if any Australians had been impacted. (Nine)
Crowds outside the hospital
Video shared by the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation showed crowds outside the hospital.
Phone numbers for the police, the hospital and other public agencies did not connect.
Vanuatu has been led by four prime ministers in four years and is due to go to the polls in January for a snap election.
In November, Prime Minister Charlot Salwai asked President Nikenike Vurobaravu to dissolve Parliament so he did not have to face a no-confidence vote as his recent predecessors did.
But Vanuatu is accustomed to natural disasters, including havoc wrought by cyclones and volcanic eruptions.
Its position on a subduction zone – where the Indo-Australia tectonic plate moves beneath the Pacific Plate – means earthquakes of greater than magnitude 6 are not uncommon and the country’s buildings are intended to withstand quake damage.
