A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu, causing widespread damage and prompting a tsunami warning. While communications remain down, reports of casualties and destruction surface.
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction in the South Pacific island nation. The quake, which happened at just before 1 p.m. local time, was centered about 19 miles west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu . A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake. With communications still down hours later, witness accounts of casualties began to surface on social media and through patchy phone calls.
The earthquake was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location, with tremors continuing throughout the afternoon and evening. It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused as phone lines and government websites remained down. In the first official information published on social media, the Geohazards Department said its monitoring systems remained offline due to power outages. Residents were urged to stay away from coastlines for at least 24 hours. No confirmed reports of damage or casualties were provided, but accounts detailing widespread destruction filtered out on social media and in interviews. Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Port Vila, told the Associated Press he heard of one death from a police officer outside Vila Central Hospital
EARTHQUAKE TSUNAMI VANUATU SOUTH PACIFIC DAMAGE
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