Large earthquake hits battered Vanuatu
Mobile networks remained knocked out, making outside contact with Vanuatu difficult and complicating aid efforts
Daily TribuneMobile networks remained knocked out, making outside contact with Vanuatu difficult and complicating aid efforts
Rescue workers are seen on December 19, 2024 at a collapsed building from Vanuatu's first earthquake, in a photo taken and released by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Handout / AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE/AFP/File
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A magnitude-6.1 earthquake rattled buildings on Vanuatu’s main island early Sunday but did not appear to have caused major damage, five days after a more powerful quake wreaked havoc and killed 12 people.
The nation’s most populous island, Efate, is still reeling from the deadly 7.3-magnitude temblor on Tuesday, which toppled concrete buildings and set off landslides in and around the capital of Port Vila.
The latest quake occurred at a depth of 40 kilometers and was located some 30 kilometers west of the capital, which has been shaken by a string of aftershocks.
No tsunami alerts were triggered when the temblor struck at 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
The death toll remained at 12, according to government figures relayed late Saturday by the United Nations’ humanitarian affairs office.
It said 210 injuries had been registered while 1,698 people have been temporarily displaced, citing Vanuatu disaster management officials.
Mobile networks remained knocked out, making outside contact with Vanuatu difficult and complicating aid efforts.
In addition to disrupting communications, the first quake damaged water supplies and halted operations at the capital’s main shipping port.
The South Pacific nation declared a seven-day state of emergency and a night curfew following the first quake.
It announced Saturday it would lift a suspension on commercial flights in an effort to restart its vital tourism industry.
The first were scheduled to arrive on Sunday.
Rescuers Friday said they had expanded their search for trapped survivors to “numerous places of collapse” beyond the capital.
