Chandigarh, December 17, 2024 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): A massive earthquake of magnitude of 7.3 struck the coast of Vanuatu, an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, leaving several buildings damaged along with witnesses claiming to have seen ‘bodies’ lying on streets .
The major city of the island country, Port Vila, was 30 kilometres (10 miles) west of the epicentre of the 57-kilometer (35-mile) deep earthquake.
A tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake, with waves of up to one metre (three feet) forecast for some areas of Vanuatu, but the alert was soon lifted by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
In the wake of the earthquake, Vanuatu official websites were down, and phone lines for the police and other government offices did not connect. However, it was not immediately apparent if this resulted in any damage. Neither the prime minister’s office nor the nation’s geohazards agency have updated their social media accounts.
Bodies lying on street
After the powerful earthquake, witnesses reportedly saw bodies lying in the street. The ground floor of a building housing the US and French embassies had been crushed under higher floors, resident Michael Thompson told news agency AFP by satellite phone after posting images of the destruction on social media.
“There’s people in the buildings in town. There were bodies there when we walked past,” the news agency quoted Thompson as saying.
A landslide on one road had covered a bus, he said, “adding that there is ”obviously some deaths there”.
Summary: A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake has hit Vanuatu, with authorities fearing significant casualties and damage as rescue efforts begin.