{"id":138093,"date":"2024-12-17T16:44:45","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T09:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138093"},"modified":"2024-12-17T16:44:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T09:44:45","slug":"magnitude-7-3-earthquake-causes-widespread-damage-in-pacific-island-nation-of-vanuatu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138093","title":{"rendered":"Magnitude 7.3 earthquake causes widespread damage in Pacific island nation of Vanuatu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC\"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB\">WELLINGTON, New Zealand &#8212; <\/span>A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just off the coast of <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/vanuatu\">Vanuatu<\/a> on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction in the South Pacific island nation as the injured began arriving at a hospital and unconfirmed reports of casualties emerged. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake. With communications still down hours later and official information scarce, witness accounts of casualties began to surface on social media and through patchy phone calls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">The earthquake occurred 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 and the shudders continued throughout the afternoon and evening local time. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused as phone lines and government websites remained down. In first official information published on social media hours after the quake, the Geohazards Department said its monitoring systems were offline due to power outages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Residents were urged to stay away from coastlines for at least 24 hours \u2014 and until tsunami and earthquake monitoring systems were operational once again. No confirmed reports of damage or casualties were provided but accounts detailing widespread destruction filtered out on social media and in interviews.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Port Vila, told The Associated Press he heard of one death in the quake from a police officer outside Vila Central Hospital. McGarry saw three people on gurneys \u201cin obvious distress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Doctors were working \u201cas fast as they could\u201d at a triage center outside the emergency ward, he added. But the nation is not equipped for a mass casualty event, McGarry said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Video shared by the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation showed crowds outside the hospital. Phone numbers for the police, the hospital and other public agencies did not connect. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Accounts of people trapped inside collapsed buildings could also not immediately be verified. A video posted on social media appeared to show crumpled buildings in Port Vila, including one that had collapsed onto cars. A Red Cross spokesperson in Fiji said the head of the aid agency&#8217;s Vanuatu office had reported widespread damage before communications were cut off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">A building housing a number of diplomatic missions in Port Vila \u2014 including those of the United States, Britain, France and New Zealand \u2014 was significantly damaged, New Zealand&#8217;s Foreign Ministry said. Officials were in the process of accounting for New Zealand High Commission staff, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">The U.S. Embassy&#8217;s Facebook page said its office was closed until further notice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">A video posted to social media showed the building with some damage to its structure, including buckled windows and debris that had crumbled from walls to the ground. Other photos and videos showed items and shelves that had tumbled to the floors of shops and landslides that appeared to block some roads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Katie Greenwood, \u200bthe Fiji-based head of the Asia-Pacific regional office for the Red Cross, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the downtown area of Port Vila was full of large buildings and hotels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">\u201cWe haven\u2019t heard at the moment about any casualties, but I will be shocked if we don\u2019t hear that bad news coming through from Port Vila at some point,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">McGarry said a \u201cmassive landslide\u201d at the international shipping terminal was likely to impede the country&#8217;s recovery. The airport&#8217;s runway is also damaged, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Vanuatu&#8217;s position on a subduction zone \u2014 where the Indo-Australia tectonic plate moves beneath the Pacific Plate \u2014 means earthquakes of greater than magnitude 6 are not uncommon and the country&#8217;s buildings are intended to withstand quake damage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">\u201cI think it could have been worse,\u201d McGarry said. But this was the most serious he had experienced during 21 years in Vanuatu \u201cby a long shot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters that Australian High Commission staff were safe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">\u201cWe will provide whatever assistance is required,\u201d she said. \u201cI say to the people of Vanuatu, you are family and Australia is here to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">New Zealand&#8217;s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said 45 New Zealanders were registered as being in Vanuatu. Peters said his government was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about the situation there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy\">\u2014-<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN\">Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/International\/wireStory\/magnitude-73-earthquake-hits-pacific-island-nation-vanuatu-116851766\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WELLINGTON, New Zealand &#8212; A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just off the coast of Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction in the South Pacific island nation as the injured &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138093\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138093\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}