Journalist Dan NcGarry, a resident of Vanuatu, described the earthquake that hit the capital Port Vila on Tuesday (17) as the “most violent” he has ever experienced. According to police, at least one person died.
Drone footage filmed by McGarry, a journalist with the Vanuatu-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, showed several landslides after the 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Port Vila, with debris blocking several sections of a road near a shipping terminal International.
McGarry, who lives in Vanuatu with his wife, said he had never experienced an earthquake of this magnitude in his 21 years on the island.
“I’ve seen a lot of big earthquakes, never one like this. My wife, who was born in Vanuatu, said it was the worst she had ever experienced in her life. The damage we have seen in the capital is more extensive than any I have seen in previous earthquakes,” he said.
Several people with injuries were seen outside the emergency ward at Vila Centra Hospital, according to McGarry. Communication systems were also affected.
“I passed by Vila Central Hospital right after the earthquake happened, maybe 40-45 minutes later. There were several injured people visible at a triage center outside the emergency ward. I also saw several people with minor injuries’, said the journalist.
Reuters was unable to immediately confirm casualty figures, with authorities in Vanuatu unavailable for comment.
The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km. Half a dozen aftershocks hit Vanuatu after the initial quake, data showed.
Vanuatu is a small country made up of around 80 islands in the south Pacific Ocean, almost 2,000 kilometers from Australia.
This content was originally published in “The most violent earthquake I have ever experienced”, says journalist in Vanuatu on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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