A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Vanuatu Islands early on Tuesday, as reported by the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM).
The earthquake struck at 5:47 AM UAE time on December 31, 2023.
The National Centre of Seismology (NCS) confirmed that the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 km near Latitude 17.68 S and Longitude 168.03 E.
Videos shared on social media showed damaged buildings, including shattered windows and collapsed concrete pillars at a site hosting foreign embassies in the capital.
Following the earthquake, the U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami warning. However, authorities in neighboring New Zealand and Australia later announced that there was no tsunami threat to their countries.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a UN agency, highlighted that the Vanuatu Islands are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, making them highly prone to earthquakes.
Most islands in Vanuatu are volcanic and sit higher than many other Pacific Island nations. Being a small island developing state, Vanuatu faces extreme vulnerability to natural disasters, climate change, and global challenges. Its ability to recover from such shocks is limited, IFAD noted.
Due to these vulnerabilities, Vanuatu has been ranked as the world’s most at-risk country under the UN’s World Risk Index since its launch in 2011.
