By Deutsche Welle (World News) | Created at 2024-12-17 05:46:03 | Updated at 2024-12-17 08:51:27
3 hours ago
At least one person was killed after a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off Vanuatu's coast on Tuesday, causing damage in the capital, Port Vila.
The jolt was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location.
Images on social media showed damages to a building in Port Vila that houses several diplomatic missions, including those of Britain, France, and New Zealand.
"There's people in the buildings in town. There were bodies there when we walked past," one resident told the AFP news agency.
Tsunami warning lifted
Footage posted online showed a building collapsed onto cars, and landslides blocking roads.
A tsunami warning was lifted two hours after the quake, while Red Cross teams are on standby to assist affected communities.
Waves of less than 30 centimeters (one foot) above the tidal level were predicted for other Pacific island nations including Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
Vanuatu is located in the Southern Pacific and comprises of 80 islands with a population of about 330,000.
ss/zc (AP, AFP, Reuters)
