At least one person was killed when a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing damage and killing at least one person in the capital Port Vila.
The tremor was followed by a 5.5 magnitude tremor near the same location.
Michael Thompson, a resident, told AFP that the lower floors of the building housing the American, French and other embassies were buried beneath higher floors.
“That doesn’t exist anymore. It’s completely leveled. The top three floors are still standing but they’ve fallen in,” Thompson said. “If there was anyone there at that time, they left.”
Both the US and New Zealand confirmed widespread damage to their missions.
“There are people in the buildings in the city. When we passed by, there were bodies,” a resident told news agency AFP.
Tsunami warning lifted
Footage posted online showed a building collapsing onto cars, and landslides blocking roads.
The tsunami warning was lifted two hours after the earthquake, while Red Cross teams prepared to assist affected communities.
Waves less than 30 centimeters (one foot) above tidal level were predicted for other Pacific island nations, including Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
Vanuatu is located in the Southern Pacific and consists of 80 islands with a population of approximately 330,000.
ss/zc (AP, AFP, Reuters)
