A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu, causing widespread damage and prompting a tsunami warning. Communications are down, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the destruction. Reports of casualties are emerging, with witnesses describing scenes of chaos and devastation.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just off the coast of Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction in the South Pacific island nation as the injured began arriving at a hospital and unconfirmed reports of casualties emerged.
It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused as phone lines and government websites remained down. In first official information published on social media hours after the quake, the Geohazards Department said its monitoring systems were offline due to power outages. Doctors were working “as fast as they could” at a triage center outside the emergency ward, he added. But the nation is not equipped for a mass casualty event, McGarry said.
A building housing a number of diplomatic missions in Port Vila — including those of the United States, Britain, France and New Zealand — was significantly damaged, New Zealand's Foreign Ministry said. Officials were in the process of accounting for New Zealand High Commission staff, a spokesperson said.A video posted to social media showed the building with some damage to its structure, including buckled windows and debris that had crumbled from walls to the ground.
McGarry said a “massive landslide” at the international shipping terminal was likely to impede the country's recovery. The airport's runway is also damaged, he said.
Earthquake Tsunami Vanuatu Destruction Casualties
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