Sydney, Australia, Dec 18 (EFE).- Vanuatu has declared a state of emergency following a magnitude-7.3 earthquake that killed at least 14 people and injured more than 200, with rescue efforts continuing among the rubble on Wednesday.
President Nikenike Vurobaravu has declared a seven-day state of emergency, and police said a curfew was in effect from 6am to 6pm “to limit the movement of people and at the same time to give time to the authorities concerned to do work in the areas that need work.”
Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office said that there were “many injured and missing,” with at least 200 people treated at the capital’s main hospital, and that the number of victims is expected to increase.
Of the 14 deaths recorded so far in capital Port Vila, four died in hospital, six in landslides, and four in the collapse of the Billabong building, where rescue efforts were continuing Wednesday, according to police.
At least 10 buildings in the city of fewer than 50,000 residents, sustained “major structural damage,” including that housing the United States, United Kingdom, French and New Zealand diplomatic offices, the disaster agency statement said, in line with what the embassies themselves had reported Tuesday after the quake.
Port Vila’s main port and airport were closed, except for humanitarian aid aircraft.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that an estimated 116,000 people across Vanuatu could have been affected and telecommunications remain disrupted in parts of the archipelago.
Damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure is also hampering access to some areas, it added. Port Vila’s main hospital has also been damaged and tents have been set up outside to treat patients.
The quake struck at 12.47 pm local time (01:47 GMT) on Tuesday, with the epicenter located about 30 kilometers west of Vanuatu’s capital and at a depth of 57.1 kilometers below the seabed, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which records seismic activity around the world.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center put the depth at 10km and said the original tsunami threat had passed.
Local television station VBTC, one of the few media outlets that published images on the ground, on Tuesday showed many people arriving at hospital in the capital in vans, cars and carried in the arms of others, as well as blocked roads and destroyed buildings and vehicles.
The World Health Organization reported on X that it has deployed a team on the ground to assist the Port Vila Central Hospital and the Ministry of Health.
Aftershocks were continuing Wednesday, according to the USGS. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Honolulu, initially activated a tsunami warning and then canceled it.
The Republic of Vanuatu, with a population of around 330,000, is made up of an archipelago of volcanic origin. EFE
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