There are conflicting reports of the official death toll from this week’s massive earthquake in Vanuatu as rescue teams continue to scour the rubble for survivors.

On Tuesday, the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office reported 14 deaths.

It said four people had been confirmed dead by the hospital, six others were killed in a landslide and four others died in a collapsed building.

But yesterday, the disaster management office reported only nine people had been confirmed dead by the hospital and made no mention of the deaths it had earlier attributed to the landslides and collapsed buildings.

One consistent figure is the more than 200 people injured, with the hospital saying many patients were being treated for broken bones.

This area has been closed to the public and search and rescue operations were ongoing.

Any buildings still standing had sustained significant structural damage.

The Port Vila main wharf remained closed due to a major landslide.

The two main water reservoirs supplying Port Vila had been totally destroyed and would require reconstruction — an assessment of the rest of the water network was ongoing.

A boil water notice is in place for all of Vila.

Power and telecommunications
The utility company Unelco is working to restore power and water supply.

Vodafone Vanuatu informed its customers that instant messaging on Messenger, Viber and WhatsApp had been restored on its mobile network.

Audio and video calling via these platforms, however, was still unavailable by today.

Vodafone said its team was working hard to resolve these issues and fully restore its internet services.

State of emergency
A one-week state of emergency was declared on Tuesday by the President, Nikenike Vurobaravu, for the worst affected areas.

Police had been urging people to adhere to the nightly curfew of 6pm to 6am local time.

They had also warned of a greater chance of opportunistic crimes being committed after the disaster and urged everyone to look out for each other.

Commercial flights
There were no commercial flights operating into or out of Vanuatu.

Local authorities said on Tuesday they were closing the Bauerfield International Airport to commercial flights for 72 hours to repair damage and prioritise disaster relief flights.

Passengers booked to fly Fiji Airways to Vila on Thursday had their flights moved to December 21.

Solomon Airlines had also indicated it would resume flying to Vanuatu from Saturday.

Virgin Airlines has cancelled flights until Sunday and a spokesperson for the Qantas Group told the ABC they were monitoring the situation closely.

International aid
International defence and medical personnel, search and rescue teams and disaster response experts from New Zealand, Australia and France were now on the ground in Port Vila.

They were helping local emergency response teams, which had been working around the clock since Tuesday’s 7.3 magnitude quake alongside locally based staff at UN agencies and non-government organisations in Vila.

Time is of the essence for the teams scouring the rubble for any sign of survivors.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Vanuatu is now in a state of emergency with at least 14 confirmed deaths following a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the capital Port Vila yesterday, followed by
a 6.1 quake and other after shocks today.

According to the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) in Vanuatu, more than 200 people were injured, with the numbers expected to rise.

The NDMO also reported that 10 buildings were damaged, included a building that housed the embassies of the United States and the United Kingdom, and the New Zealand High Commission.

The Joint Police Operation Centre is assisting with search and rescue operations, including the planned deployment of medical teams equipped with heavy machinery. Efforts to restore power and water supplies are also ongoing, the NDMO added.

Meanwhile, Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said in a statement that his country stood ready to help in any way it could.

“I extend my sincere condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones, and I wish those injured a quick recovery,” said Rabuka.

Although Port Vila airport remained closed to commercial flights, aerial assessments were underway.

The Head of Delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) Pacific, Katie Greenwood, shared in a post on X that their Emergency Operations Centre was now active, with staff and volunteers working tirelessly to assist those affected by the earthquake.

The University of the South Pacific (USP) has also expressed its sympathies to Vanuatu.

In an advisory, USP stated that its Emalus Campus would remain closed, following advice from the Campus DISMAC Committee. The closure would enable essential teams to assess and repair damage while national authorities address public infrastructure concerns.

Rescue operation continue in Port Vila, Vanuatu (it is 3:45am)
3 people have been pulled out of rubble alive, with one of them in serious condition.
All the staff from American Embassy is safe. #earthquake #sismo #Vanuatu #terremoto pic.twitter.com/oDVUjvJYci

— Disasters Daily (@DisastersAndI) December 17, 2024

Personnel from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Pacific are on the ground in Vanuatu and are collaborating with the government, civil society organisations, and development partners to support immediate response efforts.

UNICEF, in a social media update, said it has already dispatched first aid kits and Interagency Emergency Health Kits (IEHK) to health facilities. It added that prepositioned supplies, including WASH, child protection, health, ECD, nutrition, and education kits, along with tents and first aid kits, are ready for distribution to reach at least 3000 people.

The UNICEF Vanuatu field office, comprising 19 staff and consultants, was working with local authorities and partners to assess the extent of the damage and determine response needs.

Published in partnership with the University of the South Pacific Journalism Programme’s Wansolwara News.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji’s national curfew enforced by the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) on Friday evening has been dubbed as thoughtless and the “height of stupidity”.

National Federation Party president Pio Tikoduadua said it showed the government’s “disconnect with reality”.

“When NDMO director announced the imposition of a curfew, she said it was with the concurrence of the Prime Minister,” said Tikoduadua.

The NDMO said a 49-year-old man had drowned and five people were missing, including a three-year-old boy from Lautoka.

Tikoduadua said: “Fiji has never, in 50 years, imposed a curfew before a cyclone because we have always relied on the good sense of our people to look after themselves and each other in natural disasters.

“After the weekend curfew announcement, there was panic buying and selling of goods while hundreds of farmers and market vendors rushed to sell their goods at a loss because their weekend business was destroyed.

“As far as we know, the curfew was not lawful because no legal steps were taken under the NDMO Act to support it and certainly government did not say they had taken any.”

Government ‘completely isolated’
Tikoduadua said the government failed to think strategically because it was completely isolated from the people.

“The people of Fiji are finding it increasingly hard to believe that this disorganised bunch of people, who just make it up as they go along, is really their government,” he said.

“They need to remember these events the next time they go to the polls.”

NDMO director Vasiti Soko apologised to the public over the change to nationwide curfew hours.

The curfew hours have reverted to the daily 11pm to 4am window after a shift in the projected path of TC Ana. On Friday, the hours had been changed by Soko in the Western Division to 12pm Saturday to 6am on Monday, February 1, 2020.

Curfew hours for the Central, Eastern and Northern Divisions, were to have begun from 4pm Saturday until 4am on Monday.

Soko said every decision made by the office was in consultation with the Fiji Meteorological Service and other stakeholders committed to ensure the safety of all citizens.

Apologies for the ‘inconvenience’
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused as the analysis we received yesterday [Friday] entitled that an announcement should be made and due to the revisions made today [yesterday] on the path of the cyclone, the Emergency Committee decided to revert the curfew hours,” she said.

She said there was no way to predict the path and nature of a cyclone and NDMO would continue to make decisions based on the current situation.

“As of when the weather calls for a decision, then it will be made, but as it is, we will continue to update the public about all the restrictions and movements.”

Luke Rawalai is a Fiji Times reporter.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz