Significant damage was reported as a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Vanuatu | Vanuatu

A strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila on Tuesday. Footage showed some collapsed buildings and “significant damage” to a joint diplomatic mission.

The quake struck 30 km west of the capital at a depth of 57.1 km, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock nearby.

The U.S. tsunami warning system has lifted an initial tsunami warning for Vanuatu, which consists of 80 islands home to about 330,000 people.

It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused, as phone lines and government websites remained down and official channels were not updated, but reports of widespread destruction began appearing on social media hours after the quake, the Associated Press reported.

A Fiji Red Cross spokesman said workers on site reported significant damage. A video shared by the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation showed crowds outside Vila Central Hospital lifting what appeared to be injured people onto stretchers.

Telephone numbers for the police, hospital and other public bodies were not established. There were no immediately confirmed reports of casualties.

A video posted on social media appeared to show crumpled buildings in Port Vila, including one that had collapsed onto cars.

A building housing several diplomatic missions in Port Vila – including those of the United States, Britain, France and New Zealand – was significantly damaged, New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry said. A spokesman said officials were in the process of accounting for staff at the New Zealand High Commission.

A video posted on social media showed the building with some damage to the structure, including dented windows and debris falling from the walls onto the floor. Other photos and videos showed items and shelves falling to store floors and landslides that appeared to block some streets.

The United States has closed its embassy in Vanuatu due to “significant damage” to its mission, the country’s embassy in Papua New Guinea said. “The US Embassy in Port Vila suffered significant damage and is closed until further notice,” it said in a statement on social media. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this earthquake.”

Videos shared on social media also showed an image of a landslide triggered by the quake.

Many large buildings collapsed in Port Vila, with power outages and water supplies disrupted in most parts of the capital, Care Australia, a nonprofit humanitarian organization, said in a statement.

Professor Meghan Miller, from the research school of geosciences at the Australian National University, said the quake hit a seismically active area and “moderate damage” was likely.

“This region, where the tectonic plates converge, is home to one of the most seismically active plate boundaries in the world,” she said. “The hypocenter of the earthquake was quite deep, about 57 km, meaning that no tsunami was triggered. “However… very strong shaking occurred on the island, which likely caused moderate damage to structures.”

New Zealand’s foreign ministry said 37 New Zealanders were registered in Vanuatu, but did not provide further details about their status, the Associated Press said.