Large 6.9 Earthquake Hits Vanuatu in the Pacific
By Val
@valmnz (17099)
New Zealand
April 28, 2016 3:51pm CST
At the moment my sister and her husband are on Day 2 of their Pacific Cruise, heading north from New Zealand. The TV news has just told of a 6.9 earthquake hitting offshore of the island of Vanuatu. My sister's ship is due to arrive there on Day 7 of their cruise, so in five days from now.
Apparently the tsunami waves in the Pacific are only expected to be one metre high, but that could be quite devastating for the islands of Vanuatu. We visited there on a cruise seven years ago, and it is a beautifu place with simple buildings, probablt not likely to stand up to the force of such a large quake.
I'm hoping well that the locals are safe and that the cruise ship is not affected too much. The photo isn't of Vanuatu, but an even smaller island we visited on our cruise. These islands are low lying and very vulnerable to acts of nature such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
ADDING THIS AN HOUR LATER: it seems as if all could be well on the island, at the airport they've advised it wasn't enough to close the airport, so that is a relief for all the people there.
13 people like this
13 responses
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
28 Apr 16
I was thinking about the Pacific rather hard earlier, but I don't think my thoughts were responsible this time. :P Hopefully everyone is doing well.
1 person likes this
@valmnz (17099)
• New Zealand
28 Apr 16
@OneOfMany it definitely is the time of the year for earthquakes down in this part of the world.
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
28 Apr 16
@valmnz That's good. Seems to be a lot of reported earthquake activity lately. Must be the season for it!
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
29 Apr 16
That's good to hear that the island made it through unscathed and that your sister won't be affected on her cruise either.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
29 Apr 16
@valmnz So, hopefully all is still well there. If things didn't progress there as well as we're hoping will the ship be docking elsewhere instead?
1 person likes this
@quantum2020 (12040)
• Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico
28 Apr 16
I just read this morning about an earthquake in France. It's terrible that the earth's tectonic plates are sliding in two parts of the word today! I hope the small island is not hit by any tsunami!
1 person likes this
@quantum2020 (12040)
• Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico
28 Apr 16
@valmnz Really bad! The authorities of the island should have thought about this kind of events and evacuated the natives in advance.
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@valmnz (17099)
• New Zealand
28 Apr 16
@quantum2020 no one can predict when an earthquake will hit. Here in New Zealand we have them often. They just suddenly happen. Alo, this is their country, not just a holiday location.
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
29 Apr 16
glad to hear ppl were safe
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
28 Apr 16
oh dear, i was relieved to read yer update! i'll keep my fingers crossed fer those folks who live'n that beautiful isle 'n also that yer sister'n her hubs've a safe 'n pleasant journey.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
29 Apr 16
@valmnz aint that the truth? i wonder if'n such was related to the quake'n france? the world's gettin' more unstable e'ery day't seems :(
@marguicha (215405)
• Chile
28 Apr 16
In my experience, living in a country where big earthquakes happen often, the worst are tsunamis. 
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
28 Apr 16
Wow that was a close call and a really large earthquake. I hope your sister's cruise is alright, we have run from hurricanes but never an earthquake.
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
29 Apr 16
Small low-lying islands are vulnerable to all sorts of disasters. While earthquakes can devastating, global warming is their biggest danger.
@just4him (306142)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
29 Apr 16
I'm glad the quake didn't harm the island. You never know what kind of damage an earthquake will do, and I'm glad this one didn't do much damage.
