Vanuatu earthquake death toll rises to 14 as rescuers search for survivors

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says one-third of the population affected by 7.3-magnitude quake.

Rescuers in Vanuatu are racing to locate survivors from a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 14 people in the Pacific Island nation.

The 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the capital Port Vila on Tuesday reduced buildings to rubble, set off landslides and knocked out power and telecommunications infrastructure.

Katie Greenwood, the Asia Pacific head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said on Wednesday that authorities had reported 14 confirmed deaths with 200 others being treated for injuries at Port Vila’s main hospital.

Dan McGarry, a Canadian-born journalist who has lived in Vanuatu for more than 20 years, said it was a “reasonable expectation” that the death toll would rise further.

“I am concerned that it is going to rise and the government expects that the casualty figure will rise, if not the death toll,” McGarry told Al Jazeera.