Australian teams have been deployed to Vanuatu to help with the mammoth search and rescue mission following two powerful earthquakes.
The death toll from the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that rocked the island at midday yesterday climbed to 14 today.
Army teams, along with local residents, are working together to search for survivors in Port Vila. The widespread damage has impacted the infrastructure, making access difficult due to the frequent aftershocks.
Crowds outside the hospital
Video shared by the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation showed crowds outside the hospital.
Phone numbers for the police, the hospital and other public agencies did not connect.
Vanuatu has been led by four prime ministers in four years and is due to go to the polls in January for a snap election.
In November, Prime Minister Charlot Salwai requested President Nikenike Vurobaravu to dissolve Parliament to avoid facing a no-confidence vote, a situation his predecessors had encountered in the past.
But Vanuatu is accustomed to natural disasters, including havoc wrought by cyclones and volcanic eruptions.
Vanuatu’s location on a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australia tectonic plate moves beneath the Pacific Plate, makes it prone to earthquakes with a magnitude exceeding 6. The country’s structures are designed to endure seismic activity and minimize damage from earthquakes.
