A magnitude of 7.0 earthquake struck near Vanuata which is a South Pacific Ocean nation. This country is made up of roughly 80 islands that stretch 1,300 kilometres. After this earthquake which occurred on January 8, residents were frightened and the villagers fled to higher altitudes fearing a tsunami.
Having said that, Vanuatu is ranked as one of the countries which is most susceptible to natural disasters like earthquakes, storm damage, flooding and tsunamis, according to the annual World Risk Report, as stated in a report by NDTV.
So, what now? Will there be a tsunami? What damage did the earthquake cause and when was the last tremor felt in Vanuatu? All these and a lot more will be discussed in #WhatTheFAQ!
What did the officials say?
As per reports online, "The quake hit around 11:30pm local time (12:30 GMT) on Sunday. It was centred 23km (14 miles) from Port Olry and hit at a depth of 27km (17 miles)"
How are the locals reacting?
A 22-year-old student from the village of Hog Harbour in Espiritu Santo, Kayson Pore said he was looking for crab on the beach with half a dozen friends when the earth shook. "It was very huge," Pore told AFP by telephone.
"We were right on the sea, we were looking for crab on the coast. We ran for our lives and then we ran to our homes," he said. Further, at his home in the village of about 1,000 people, the quake had knocked objects to the ground, breaking cups in the kitchen, Pore added. "People were moving to higher ground" for fear of a tsunami tidal wave, he informed. But Pore said he had seen no structural damage to homes in his village.
Adding to this, a receptionist at the Grand Hotel and Casino in the capital, Natasha Joel, said that the people could feel the quake as far away as Port Vila, on the island of Etafe. However, the tremor was "a bit small" there and no guests were evacuated from the hotel, she said.
Tsunami or no tsunami?
Well! Although there was a tsunami warning given by National Weather Service (NWS) in Hawaii, New Zealand's National Emergency Management Agency said there was no tsunami threat to its country, as stated in a report by AFP. "Tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to one metre above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Vanuatu," the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said.
To add more, a tsunami warning was initially issued for Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands but was cancelled about an hour and a half after the quake, as reported by NDTV.
When was the last tremor?
In November, the Solomon Islands, an island nation north of Vanuatu, was hit with a 7.0-magnitude earthquake. However, there were no reports of serious injuries or significant structural damage.
Earlier, in 2018 a 5.4-magnitude quake was reported in Ambrym Island of Vanuata, as stated in a report by WorldData.info.
