A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu, reported dead by Reuters

By Alasdair Pal and Kirsty Needham

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila on Tuesday, damaging buildings and cars and killing at least one person.

Vanuatu’s state broadcaster showed images of crushed cars in a collapsed building on a street lined with vendors. The broadcaster reported that one person was trapped in the collapsed building.

Other images posted on social media showed blocked windows and collapsed concrete pillars at the building that hosts foreign embassies in the capital, including the embassies of the US, Britain, France and New Zealand.

“Our High Commission building, which is united with the United States, the French and the United States The government (TADAWUL :), has significant damage,” a spokesperson for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

There were connectivity shortages across the country, the statement added.

Police reported that at least one person was killed and the injured were taken to hospital, according to Dan McGarry, a reporter for the Vanuatu-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, in the X post.

“I saw three people seriously injured while they were waiting for treatment,” he said.

“There’s a lot of damage around town. We have a damaged building,” McGarry told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview.

The road connecting Port Vila to its main port was blocked by landslides, he added.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the number of casualties, while Vanuatu officials could not comment.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake was 10 km (6.2 miles) deep.

The US Tsunami Warning Center has canceled the initial tsunami warning for Vanuatu.

Officials in the US, Australia and New Zealand said there was no tsunami threat in their areas.