Live updates: Vanuatu earthquake death toll expected to rise

Australians Jo-Anna and Tim Kafer live in a remote village in Vanuatu.

Jo-Anna says the earthquake was a terrible experience.

“We have lived here for six years and this was by far the biggest earthquake we have ever experienced,” she told News Breakfast.

“I watched my house bouncing up and down, I stood there in shock and then thought of jumping under the table, which is a sturdy table.

“And then I watched as my bookshelf, which was attached to the top of the wall, danced away on the floor… and everything just fell to the floor.”

Her husband, Tim, was outside when the earthquake struck.

“I heard this sound and thought it was like an impending earthquake, and next thing I know the whole ground is making shaky waves,” he said.

“I had trouble getting up and getting to the house was very, very difficult.

“All I could hear was the banging and crashing of the house.”

The US Embassy in Port Moresby tweeted that it was ready to work closely with the government in Vanuatu.

The hospital in Port Vila was damaged and tents were set up outside to accommodate the influx of patients.

“Immediate response efforts are underway as humanitarian partners and authorities work to overcome access and communication challenges,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a situation report.

Some people injured in the quake were driven in flatbed trucks to a hospital in Port Vila, where others lay outside on stretchers or sat on plastic chairs, their arms and heads wrapped in bandages, images on public television VBTC showed.

World Vision Vanuatu's Clement Chipokolo told ABC's The World that the hospital in Port Vila was overwhelmed with injured people.

“We know the hospital in Port Vila is quite full… they are struggling to cope,” Mr Chipokolo said.

Reporting with AFP

Katie Greenwood, head of the Asia-Pacific regional office of the International Federation of the Red Cross, said the community in Vanuatu is pulling together as recovery efforts begin.

Ms Greenwood said help, including water, was urgently needed.

In a statement, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that DFAT was supporting Australians in Vanuatu and urged any other Australians in need of assistance to contact the Consular Emergency Response Centre.

“DFAT is aware of the presence of a number of Australians in the affected region and is providing consular assistance to those in need.

“Australians requiring emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian Government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Center (+61 6 261 3305 from abroad or 1300 555 135 in Australia).”

Vanuatu's caretaker prime minister Charlot Salwai has declared a seven-day state of emergency.

The state of emergency imposes a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and only essential services are allowed to operate.

Mr Salwai said it was a “sad and devastating time” in Port Vila.

Reporting with Reuters

Geoscience Australia has reported a magnitude 6 earthquake in Vanuatu this morning.

Good morning, I'm Jesmine Cheong and, along with my colleagues from the Asia-Pacific Newsroom, I'll be taking you through live coverage of recovery efforts in Vanuatu following a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake near the capital yesterday.

Here's what happened overnight:

• According to local media, at least six people died in the 7.3 magnitude earthquake
• The death toll is expected to continue to rise as locals have described the disaster as a “mass casualty event”.
• It is estimated that more than 116,000 people were affected by the quake
• A seven-day state of emergency was declared
• Desperate search and rescue operations are underway to reach people trapped under collapsed buildings in Port Vila
• Communication lines and critical infrastructure, including drinking water reservoirs, were damaged
• Australia is sending search and rescue teams and emergency medical assistance to Vanuatu today

You can read our overnight coverage here: