SYDNEY (AFP) – A magnitude-6.1 earthquake rattled buildings on Vanuatu’s main island early yesterday but did not appear to have caused major damage, five days after a more powerful quake wreaked havoc and killed 12 people.
The nation’s most populous island, Efate, is still reeling from the deadly 7.3-magnitude temblor on Tuesday, which toppled concrete buildings and set off landslides in and around the capital of Port Vila. The latest quake occurred at a depth of 40 kilometres and was located some 30 kilometres west of the capital, which has been shaken by a string of aftershocks.
No tsunami alerts were triggered when the temblor struck at 2.30am yesterday.
Port Vila businessman Michael Thompson told AFP the quake woke his family.
“It gave a better bit of a shake and the windows rattled a little bit, it would have caused houses to rattle,” he said.
“But you know, no movement other than a few inches either way, really. Whereas the main quake, you would have had like a metre and a half movement of the property very, very rapidly and suddenly.
“I’d describe this one as one of the bigger aftershocks, and we’ve had a fair few of them now.” Thompson said there was no sign of further damage in his immediate vicinity.
The death toll remained at 12, according to government figures relayed late Saturday by the United Nations’ humanitarian affairs office.
It said 210 injuries had been registered while 1,698 people have been temporarily displaced, citing Vanuatu disaster management officials. Mobile networks remained knocked out, making outside contact with Vanuatu difficult and complicating aid efforts.
In addition to disrupting communications, the first quake damaged water supplies and halted operations at the capital’s main shipping port.
The South Pacific nation declared a seven-day state of emergency and a night curfew following the first quake.
