PINA

World Vision's Vanuatu country director says electricity and water are still affected in Port Vila and strategic bridges connecting the city are damaged, nearly 24 hours after a 7.3 earthquake just before 1pm Tuesday afternoon. The city has had multiple aftershocks since, with the strongest on Wednesday morning reaching a magnitude 5.5. At least 14 people are confirmed to have been...

New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following Tuesday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need,” Peters said. “Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be doing all we can to help. “A New Zealand military surveillance plane is due...

A second earthquake has struck Vanuatu, as the death toll from Tuesday’s deadly quake rose and an international search and rescue operation got underway. With communications down, the official death toll was not yet known. But at least 14 people were reportedly killed and 200 have been treated for injuries, according to Katie Greenwood, a Fiji-based regional head of the...

Vanuatu Red Cross Secretary General Dickinson Tevi says two women and a child were among those trapped in collapsed buildings in Port Vila. Tevi said at least two buildings came “crashing down” and people remained trapped. “Work is still going on to try and get people out.” Tevi said he was told of three people - two women and a child -...

Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa has expressed solidarity with Vanuatu following the earthquakes that struck Port Vila. “We are with Vanuatu and her people through this tragedy, and we mourn with the families that have lost their loved ones,” Waqa said in a statement today. The Forum stands ready to assist and offer support to Vanuatu during this very difficult as...

An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck Vanuatu's capital Port Vila on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and damaging two reservoirs and a hospital. International Federation of Red Cross Pacific head of delegation Katie Greenwood posted on X that the Vanuatu government was reporting 14 confirmed fatalities and 200 people were treated for injuries at the main hospital in Port...

A mass casualty event is feared in Port Vila, after a major earthquake struck Vanuatu's capital, destroying buildings. A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just off the coast of Vanuatu's major island of Efate on Tuesday afternoon. Locals reported on social media feeling violent shaking for around 30 seconds. Posts to social media, which AAP is yet to verify, show seriously damaged buildings,...

Interim President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Benny Wenda has condemned the mass displacement of West Papuans as Indonesian military operations intensify across the region, calling it evidence of President Prabowo Subianto’s violent agenda. “Thousands of my people are being forced to flee their homes this Christmas,” Wenda said, citing military incursions in Yahukimo, Maybrat, and...

Victoria Police and the Australian Workers Union (AWU) are urging Pacific Islander seasonal workers to take care while driving, as new figures reveal PALM workers are six times more likely to die on Australia's roads. The AWU has also reiterated calls on workers and employers to ensure PALM workers are well-versed with driving rules. Figures obtained by the ABC reveal at...

Countries including the US successfully resisted Africa’s push for a legally binding drought protocol at the “land COP” in Riyadh Governments have failed to agree on a global mechanism for tackling drought at a United Nations conference in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, despite warnings from scientists of an environmental crisis unfolding beneath our feet. Talks at the COP16 conference of...