Experts expect significant damage from Vanuatu earthquake

Wellington, Dec 18 (IANS) Seismologists in New Zealand and Australia are expecting a significant damage from the large earthquake that struck Vanuatu on Tuesday.

The 7.3-magnitude shallow earthquake caused strong shaking near the capital Port Vila, about 30 km from the epicentre, at 12:47 local time, with a depth of 43 km, the US Geological Survey said.

The earthquake, described by locals as a “violent, high-frequency vertical shake,” left at least 14 people dead and hundreds more injured so far, and an initial tsunami warning has since been lifted.

Associate Professor Kasper van Wijk at Department of Physics, University of Auckland, said this particular earthquake was shallow and close to Port Vila, so significant damage would be expected, as Vanuatu is situated, like New Zealand, on top of a subduction zone.

Mark Stirling, chair of Earthquake Science, University of Otago, said this earthquake occurred at ground zero of one of the most active plate boundaries, and the subduction zone between the Vanuatu microplate and Australian plate was moving extremely fast, about 170 mm per year, so major earthquakes were commonplace there.

Associate Professor Fabio Capitanio from the School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University said the recurrence time of these earthquakes was estimated to be around every 100 years, although this can not be used as a future projection.

Behzad Fatahi of Civil and Earthquake Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney said Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation of over 80 islands and a population of approximately 320,000, sits in the highly seismically active “Ring of Fire,” with Port Vila the closest major urban area to the epicentre and likely to experience the strongest impacts.

Aftershocks can be serious and sometimes nearly as dangerous as the main event, Fatahi said, calling on residents in Port Vila, as well as nearby regions like New Caledonia, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands, to remain alert for further shaking, Xinhua news agency reported.

In 2009, two powerful earthquakes with a magnitude larger than 7.7 struck this region within 15 minutes of each other, and in 2021, the Loyalty Islands earthquake triggered multiple smaller earthquakes and tsunamis, he said.

Fatahi also warned of secondary hazards, such as soil liquefaction and landslides, particularly in coastal cliffs and hilly areas west of Port Vila, where ground instability could worsen with aftershocks.

Tuesday’s quake caused severe damage to local buildings, including those housing the New Zealand High Commission as well as the United States, French and British embassies.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said New Zealand was ready to help if needed.

There has been significant damage across Vanuatu, according to the Red Cross.

–IANS

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