Magnitude 7.3 earthquake causes widespread damage in Vanuatu

Associated Press 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.

A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours af ter 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 just before 1 pm at a depth of 57 kilometers and was centered 30 kilometres west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu a group of 80 islands that is home to about 3,30,000 people. It was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location, with tremors continuing throughout the afternoon and evening.

Crowds outside the hospital: Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Port Vila, told The Associated Press he heard of one death from a police officer outside Vila Central Hospital. McGarry saw three people on gurneys “in obvious distress,” he said. 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, McGarry said. The US Embassy's Facebook page said all staff were safe, but the building was closed until further notice.