Hundreds of Australians were evacuated from Vanuatu following a devastating magnitude 7.3 earthquake that killed at least 14 people and injured hundreds more.
The magnitude 7.3 quake on Tuesday devastated the capital Port Vila, leaving up to 14 feared dead and at least 200 injured. Chantel Mara was among the 136 Australians who returned on two RAAF planes on Thursday evening, sharing emotional stories of chaos, survival and relief. Mara, who was travelling with her husband and three kids, described the chaos at her hotel when the quake struck. She recalled the terrifying aftershocks.
“The last two mornings we woke up at 10 to five, and 20 past five to another earthquake happening ... we all jumped out of bed and ran,” she said. Also arriving was Shane Cook, who was in Port Vila when the earthquake struck. “I watched buildings come down around me, and I watched people ... I saw someone get crushed. It was horrific,” he said. Cook described waiting for hours in uncertainty. “We literally sat on the top of the hill for about five-and-a-half hours until someone came to us and gave us some information to go to the Australian High Commission.” Australians were flown home on a RAAF flight that travelled to Vanuatu with search and rescue teams to help with the recovery effort. “Two of my cousins were actually on a tree trying to jump off into the lagoon and I had a cousin actually in the lagoon ... were were worried about all the little kids ... the Blue Lagoon tuned brown in like, probably five seconds.” With roads blocked by landslides, Chiana struggled to return to her hotel, only to find homes near her grandmother’s house under water
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