Magnitude 7.4 earthquake strikes near Vanuatu capital

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Tsunami threat has passed for nearby islands after earthquake strikes near Vanuatu’s capital Porta Vila.

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake has hit near Port Vila, Vanuatu, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Initial reports said the quake struck on Tuesday at a location 37km (22.9 miles) from the capital and a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).

Later reports placed the depth of the quake at 43km (26.7 miles), which was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location.

Footage posted on social media showed buckled windows and collapsed concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign embassies in Port Vila, including those of the US, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the Reuters news agency reports.

There were no initial reports of injuries or deaths.

Dan McGarry, a journalist based in Vanuatu, said the quake was the biggest he had witnessed in 20 years.

In posts to social media, McGarry described the quake as a “mass casualty event”, and confirmed the death of one person with Vila Central Hospital, which has set up a triage centre outside the emergency ward.

Vanuatu government websites were offline in the aftermath of the quake and phone numbers for the police and other public agencies did not connect. Social media channels for the country’s geohazards agency and the prime minister’s office have not been updated.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu said it had observed waves after the quake but later lifted the threat of tsunami for neighbouring islands, including Fiji, the Kermadec Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said that there was no tsunami threat to the country. Authorities in New Zealand also said there was no danger posed by a tsunami.