Katie Watson
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Russia's chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow bomb blast
It struck at 12.47 local time, so just around lunchtime at about 30 kilometres from the capital, Port Vila, and a depth of up to 57 kilometres. So as we heard just there, yeah, I think a lot of people were shocked by the intensity of the quake and the mean depth. a series of smaller aftershocks in the hours after the initial quake.
Global News Podcast
Russia's chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow bomb blast
But very quickly, people were jumping on social media and posting images of one flattened building where you could see authorities were looking to see whether there were any people trapped. And there was also the U.S. Embassy building that showed pictures of broken windows. And that same building, the U.K. High Commission building,
Global News Podcast
Russia's chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow bomb blast
the French embassy, the New Zealand High Commission, they're all in the same building. So the US have said that their people are safe and sound. So if New Zealand, that we're able to evacuate safely during the earthquake, but still it is a massive operation and the communications are still very difficult on the ground. It's a small island nation, very much in the middle of the Pacific.
Global News Podcast
Russia's chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow bomb blast
So you can imagine the logistics of trying to get help.
Global News Podcast
Russia's chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow bomb blast
Absolutely. I mean, it's in an area of seismic activity. It's a part of the world that's not unused to natural disasters. Last year, there was a series of cyclones that affected the island. There have been earthquakes in recent years. But the extent that, you know, the size of this earthquake and obviously the distance between
Global News Podcast
Russia's chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow bomb blast
The intensity at which it hit took everybody by surprise and is obviously making people nervous with the aftershocks that we have been seeing and registered on the islands. But it's about 80 islands, an archipelago of just over 80 islands, very low-lying islands, and that's why there was concern initially about a potential tsunami threat.
Global News Podcast
Russia's chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow bomb blast
It is a part of the world that is very used to natural disasters, but it's also part of the world that's very vulnerable to them in terms of you know, getting support, getting help. And Australia, which is one of the closest large nations, has said that it stands by, ready to assist Vanuatu and no doubt will be one of the first on the ground when they can get there.