PORT VILA, VANUATU TRAGIC EARTHQUAKE – OUR LOCAL CONNECTION
On December 17, 2024, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Port Vila, Vanuatu, at 12:47 PM local time, at a depth of 54km. The quake caused collapse of buildings and landslides. Keen readers of the Friendly Bay Islander may be aware that, Ray Saunders, “The Island Engineer”, was the Principal Structural Engineer in Port Vila in the late 1980s and designed many earthquake-resistant multistorey concrete buildings in Port Vila and Santo.Following the earthquake in Port Vila, frantic calls were made to family members. The town centre suffered significant damage, losing communication, power, and water. A friend with a Starlink kit quickly shared news and video on social media. Many were missing and trapped under collapsed shops and office buildings. Over the next week, it was discovered that two nieces narrowly escaped a landslide when their mini-bus was hit by a boulder. Sadly, there were busloads of people following that were engulfed by a landslide and could not be recovered. Another family member narrowly avoided tragedy when on leaving the Billabong store, it collapsed on the front of their car with his wife and two grandchildren inside, tragically those in the cars beside them were less fortunate. The earthquake resulted in 14 confirmed deaths and 265 injuries.The earthquake was ten times stronger than the more common 7.0 magnitude quakes, which are often preceded by a rumbling sound and you feel a strong shake if in bed. This quake, however, was a sudden vertical uplift with no warning. Like many cities adjacent to harbours, Port Vila was developed on reclaimed land in the late 1880s and has fluid ground conditions that quickly lose strength during earthquakes, exacerbating the damage.Upon hearing of more collapsed buildings, Ray contacted colleagues in Port Vila. It was reassuring to learn that all properly engineered multilevel buildings, including those designed by Ray in the late 1980s, remained intact. These buildings were designed to the New Zealand Concrete Structures Code, which emphasizes ductile reinforcement and closely spaced containment reinforcement, particularly at column/beam connections, to prevent structural collapse even if the concrete fractures. Unfortunately, this standard was not followed by many buildings and collapses and loss of lives occurred.Ray is currently assisting with mitigation measures to protect the vulnerable water catchment that feed the town water supply from landslides that have disrupted the river systems in the island mountainous interior.
For building consulting, contact Ray Saunders, principal of Island Consulting Group providing structural, civil, and geotechnical engineering, including soil testing on the SMBI. Ray is a Registered Professional Engineer in Queensland (RPEQ), member of the Australian Geomechanics Society, and a resident of Macleay Island, to guide you through the design process. M: 0409 586 794 E: theislandengineer@gmail.com
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