A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Vanuatu, resulting in injuries and damage. Communications are down, hindering the assessment of the situation. Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties.
The South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu was reportedly rocked by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck just off the coast. Injured people are arriving at hospital in Vanuatu after the earthquake. A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake on Tuesday. With communications still down hours after the jolt and official information scarce, witness accounts of casualties began to surface on social media and through patchy phone calls.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 35 miles and was centred 18 miles west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands which is home to about 330,000 people. The jolt was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location. It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused as phone lines and government websites remained down and official channels have not been updated, but reports of widespread destruction filtered out on social media and in interviews. Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Port Vila, told the Associated Press that he had heard of one death from a police officer outside Vila Central Hospital. Mr McGarry added that he saw three people on trolleys “in obvious distress”. Doctors were working “as fast as they could” at a triage centre outside the emergency ward, he added, but the nation is not equipped for a mass casualty event. Video shared by Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation showed crowds outside the hospital. Phone numbers for the police, the hospital and other public agencies did not connect. There were no official reports of casualties. Reports of people trapped inside buildings could also not immediately be confirmed. A video posted on social media appeared to show crumpled buildings in Port Vila, including one that had collapsed on to car
EARTHQUAKE TSUNAMI VANUATU DAMAGE CASUALTIES
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