A magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Port-Vila, the capital of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, has been described as a violent, high frequency vertical shake with Tsunami waves seen, buildings destroyed and fears for mass casualties.

Published 9 hours ago, updated 8 mins ago

Earthquake Centered Just West of Port Vila

The earthquake occurred on Tuesday afternoon December 17, at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was centered 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands that is home to about 330,000 people. The jolt was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location.

Vanuatu state broadcaster VBTC showed footage of vehicles crushed in a building collapse on a street lined with retailers. The broadcaster reported one person had been trapped in a collapsed building.

Other footage posted on social media showed buckled windows and collapsed concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign missions in the capital, including the US, British, French and New Zealand embassies.  The road connecting Port Vila to its main port was reported to be blocked by landslides.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Papua New Guinea said its embassy in Port Vila had sustained “considerable damage” and was closed until further notice.

New Zealand’s High Commission building, which is co-located with the US, French and British missions, had “sustained significant damage,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

Communications Outages Across the Country

There were communications outages across the country, the New Zealand statement added, while the Australian High Commission in Vanuatu said its communication systems had also been affected.

Police reported at least one person had been killed and injured people had been taken to hospital, according to Dan McGarry, a journalist with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project based in Vanuatu, in a post on X.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was at a depth of 10km and an initial tsunami warning for Vanuatu from the US Tsunami Warning System was later cancelled.

One of the World’s most Seismically Active Regions

According to the USGS, the area where the Australia and Pacific plates meet is among the world’s most seismically active. In the century leading up to the December 17, 2024, earthquake, there were 24 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or larger within 250 km of this event. The largest recorded event in this region was a magnitude 7.9 earthquake approximately 86 km to the southwest in December 1950.

Many areas of Vanuatu suffered extensive damage from natural disasters in 2023 including from Cyclones Judy and Kevin (March 2023) and then from an earthquake. See Vanuatu news for details.

.………………………………

Related News:

• Large 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Near Vanuatu (Radio New Zealand)
• Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake Strikes Near Vanuatu (NZ Herald)
• Vanuatu Struck by 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake (ABC News)

.………………………………

Find out all news, reports, links and comments posted on Noonsite, plus cruising information from around the world, by subscribing to our FREE monthly newsletter. Go to https://www.noonsite.com/newsletter/.