Rescuers dig for survivors of Vanuatu earthquake with no water and unclear death toll

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Vanuatu's capital was without water on Wednesday, a day after reservoirs were destroyed by a violent magnitude 7.3 earthquake that wrought havoc on the South Pacific island nation, with the number of people killed and injured expected to rise.

The government's disaster management office said early Wednesday that 14 deaths were confirmed, but hours later said nine had been verified by the main hospital. The number was "expected to increase" as people remained trapped in fallen buildings, a spokesperson said. About 200 people have been treated for injuries.

Two of those killed were Chinese nationals, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency, which cited Gu Zihua, an official at the Chinese embassy in Vanuatu.

Frantic rescue efforts that began at flattened buildings after the quake hit early Tuesday afternoon continued 30 hours later, with dozens working in dust and heat with little water to seek those yelling for help inside. A few more survivors were extracted from the rubble of downtown buildings in Port Vila, also the country's largest city, while others remained trapped and some were found dead.

A near-total telecommunications collapse meant people struggled to confirm their relatives' safety. Some providers began to re-establish phone service but connections were patchy.

Internet service had not been restored because the submarine cable supplying it was damaged, the operator said.

The earthquake hit at a depth of 57 kilometres (35 miles) and was centred 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of the capital of Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands home to about 330,000 people. A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake, but dozens of large aftershocks continued to rattle the country.

The Asia-Pacific head of the International Federation of Red Cross, Katie Greenwood, speaking to The Associated Press from Fiji, said it was not clear how many people were still missing or killed.

"We have anecdotal information coming from people at the search and rescue site that are fairly confident that unfortunately those numbers will rise," she said.

The capital's main medical facility, Vila Central Hospital, was badly damaged and patients were moved to a military camp. Clement Chipokolo, Vanuatu country director at the Christian relief agency World Vision, said health care services, already strained before the quake, were overwhelmed.

While power was out in swathes of Port Vila, the biggest fear among aid agencies was the lack of water. Two large reservoirs serving the capital were totally decimated, the National Disaster Management Office said.

Resident Milroy Cainton said people were joining large queues to buy water in stores, but could only purchase two or four bottles at a time. "People are not really concerned about electricity, they're just concerned about water," he said.

UNICEF was recording a rise in diarrhoea among children, a sign that they had begun to drink tainted water, said the chief of the Vanuatu office, Eric Durpaire. Officials told residents of areas where water had been restored to boil it.

At least 10 buildings sustained major damage, many in a busy downtown area full of lunchtime shoppers when the quake hit. An unknown number of people were trapped inside, and Cainton, the resident, said rescuers had been forced to target their efforts to where they believed people could be saved.

Damage to the seaport and airport is likely to hamper aid efforts and economic recovery in a country dependent on agricultural exports and tourism. The airport was closed to commercial flights for a further 72 hours from Wednesday.

But the runway was deemed functional for humanitarian flights by French engineers who arrived by helicopter. Military craft from Australia and New Zealand were due to begin arriving Wednesday night, carrying search and rescue personnel and equipment, as well as relief supplies.

Dan McGarry, a journalist living in Vanuatu, said there had been a "massive landslide" at the international shipping terminal. The government said the main wharf was closed.

Vanuatu's position on a subduction zone — where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate moves beneath the Pacific Plate — means earthquakes of greater than magnitude 6 are not uncommon, and the country's buildings are intended to withstand quake damage.

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