“We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide further assistance to the people of Vanuatu as the extent of damage becomes clear.

“Australia and Vanuatu share a deep and enduring partnership. We are family and we will always be there in times of need.”

The department earlier released a statement saying it was still “urgently seeking information from the Australian high commission in Port Vila to ascertain the impact of the earthquake on any Australians in Vanuatu and the local population”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a statement on Tuesday afternoon offering support.

“Australians are thinking of our friends and neighbours in Vanuatu after the devastating earthquake that struck their home this afternoon,” Albanese said. “We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist the people of Vanuatu in any way we can.”

It is not known how many Australians are in Vanuatu, a popular holiday destination just over three hours’ flight from Sydney. Australia does not track the number of Australian citizens or permanent residents travelling overseas.

Buildings down, runway ‘damaged’

Dan McGarry, a Vanuatu-based journalist, told AAP he feared casualties from the tremor.

“There are buildings down here, so I’m expecting the casualty figure to rise,” he said.

“I know of one fatality, according to police stationed at Port Vila Central Hospital, and I saw with my own eyes three others on gurneys, several others walking around, walking wounded.

“I think it will probably be in the dozens, altogether, dead and wounded.”

McGarry said a “massive landslide” at the international shipping terminal was likely to impede the country’s recovery. The airport’s runway is also damaged, he told Associated Press.

Port Vila’s airport could not be contacted on Tuesday, but flight tracking sites suggested all flights were grounded. Some airlines in Australia and the Pacific said they had cancelled or paused flights scheduled for Wednesday and were awaiting news of the airport’s status.

‘We definitely need help’

Australian man Michael Thompson, who operates a zipline company in Vanuatu, said it appeared four buildings were down and many others had minor damage. He suggested the local hospital was struggling to cope with demand.

“There’s a big rescue operation on the way to clear out some people that are possibly alive in the building,” he said in a video posted to Facebook. “The American embassy is collapsed, the bottom floor … is just pancaked … that’s gone. We definitely need help in Port Vila.”

As he filmed the devastation, Thomas said there were a lot of people walking around the streets unsure of what to do.

“We need heavy equipment, and we need some experienced personnel,” he said on his video. “So if you’ve got a chance, please send that out and see if we can get some assistance down to Vanuatu at Port Vila, as quick as we can.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australian officials were still gathering information about the situation on the ground.

“That’s a beautiful country, and it is under threat right now. We are thinking of the wonderful people of Vanuatu who are worried now, battening down the hatches,” he said.

CARE Australia said its office in Port Vila office had sustained damage from the earthquake and landlines had been cut. In a statement, the charity said electricity was down and water was cut in most of the capital. It said it was ready to assist in recovery efforts.

Embassies crushed, evacuated

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Papua New Guinea said its embassy in Port Vila had sustained “considerable damage” and was closed until further notice.

New Zealand’s high commission building, which is co-located with the US, French and British missions, had “sustained significant damage”, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

There were communications outages across the country, the New Zealand statement added, while the Australian high commission in Vanuatu said its communication systems had also been affected.

The US Tsunami Warning System cancelled an initial warning for Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands that is home to about 330,000 people. Some islands in the low-lying atoll nation are only one metre above sea level.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to Australia.

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New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry said 37 New Zealanders were registered as being in Vanuatu. The ministry did not give details about the status of their nationals.

Vanuatu lies on the “Ring of Fire”, a 40,000-kilometre seismically active arc around the rim of the Pacific tectonic plate.

“Vanuatu is situated, like New Zealand, on top of a subduction zone,” University of Auckland physics associate professor Kasper van Wijk said.

“This particular earthquake was shallow and close to Port Vila, so I expect there to be significant damage from the earthquake.”

With Reuters, AP, AAP