Vanuatu declares state of emergency after series of earthquakes, multiple cyclones

Vanuatu declared a state of emergency on Friday after two earthquakes struck back-to-back, and a second cyclone lashed the Pacific nation.

The US Geological Survey reportedthe first 6.5 magnitude earthquake at 1804 GMT off the island of Espiritu Santo in the north at a depth of 10 kilometres. An aftershock with a magnitude of 5.4 struck the island shortly after.

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However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was "no tsunami threat" from the initial earthquake.

Pacific Red Cross spokesman Soneel Ram told the news agency AFP that so far no casualties have been reported.

Cyclone Judy had lashed the country with winds up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour, just two days earlier.

When the quake struck, locals were already dealing with torn roofs and buildings from the cyclone. While the roads are still flooded, electricity and communications are still affected across the island country.

The Secretary General of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society, Dickinson Tevi had warned of the possibility of significant damages.

Tevi told AFP, "people on (Espiritu) Santo felt the earthquake, but couldn't go outside to assess the damage because of the high winds. They told me they didn't sleep well as the earthquake hit when they were already awake from the cyclone."

Back in January, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake also struck off Espiritu Santo, which prompted villagers to go to higher grounds and caused no major damage.

The annual World Risk Report ranked Vanuatu among one ofthe most susceptible countries to be hit by natural disasters like earthquakes, storm damage, flooding and tsunamis.

(with inputs from agencies)

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