Ten people were killed, many were displaced, and vital infrastructure was destroyed when the 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the main island.
As the death toll rises to 10, rescuers say they have extended their search for stranded survivors in Vanuatu to “numerous places of collapse” outside the city.
Tuesday’s 7.3-magnitude earthquake off the main island caused landslides and the collapse of concrete buildings in Port Vila.
Commercial flights have been suspended, activities at the capital’s principal shipping port have been halted, mobile networks have been cut off, and water supplies have been impacted.
According to government numbers reported Thursday by the UN humanitarian affairs office, ten confirmed deaths have occurred thus far.
Their embassies have confirmed that two of the deceased were Chinese and one was French.
According to the UN, the earthquake has directly impacted some 80,000 people on the 320,000-person archipelago, which is located in the quake-prone Ring of Fire in the Pacific.
Of these, over 14,000 are children.
More than 100 personnel, rescue equipment, dogs, and assistance supplies have been sent by Australia and New Zealand to assist in the search for survivors and emergency repairs.
In a video update released by Canberra on Friday, Douglas May, the leader of Australia’s 69-person rescue team, stated that there are “several major collapse sites where buildings are fully pancaked.”
Concrete pile
“Outside of that, there’s a lot of smaller collapses around the place,” May stated.
“At this point, we’re beginning to disperse to check for additional damage and stranded individuals. And we’ve discovered a lot of collapse sites beyond the city, both east and west.”
Rescuers have concentrated on two disaster locations in Port Vila: a two-story shopping block in the city center that collapsed into a flat pile of concrete, and a four-story building in the north that housed a grocery, hotel, and garage. The ground floor of the building was flattened.
“Most of the lives have been lost” at the shopping complex, Vanuatu’s Emergency Services Association acting manager Jeff Mabbett told AFP.
Minutes after the earthquake struck, his rescue crew arrived on the scene and began saving as many people as they could.
After four days, the squad continued to excavate through building debris and landslides.
According to Mabbett, “limited access to heavy machinery, very small spaces, poor lighting, and multiple large aftershocks” were impeding the rescue effort.
Traveling medical professionals assist
Survivors were receiving medical assistance from a second team, which included establishing a field hospital.
“We have seen over 100 patients in the three days post-earthquake, with a range of ailments,” Mabbett stated.
“We are lucky to have had the kind support from tourists who are paramedics, doctors and nurses from Australia and New Zealand who have assisted us with clinical staffing until their repatriation flights took off.”
He claimed the rescuers were in “good spirits” despite their fatigue.
A building that housed the diplomatic missions of the United States, France, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand was also destroyed by the earthquake. Although half of the four-story building’s ground floor was destroyed, no fatalities were reported.
The government has imposed a curfew at night and a seven-day state of emergency.
Philippe Guyant, a World Health Organization medical official in Vanuatu, stated, “One concern at this time is that there are reports of 900 people who have been displaced out of their houses and who have been sleeping outside for the last few days and nights, without proper access to water and sanitation facilities.”
According to him, Vanuatu has typically been able to establish shelter after cyclones and other natural catastrophes.
However, there was no evacuation center this time, and people remained outside for a very long time. A variety of people are present, some of them are afraid to return to their homes because they were destroyed in the earthquake.
