Damage to NZ High Commission as staff checks underway - MFAT

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that Tuesday's large earthquake caused significant damage to New Zealand's High Commission building in Port Vila.

An MFAT official says they have been in contact with High Commissioner Nicci Simmonds in the Vanuatu capital.

"Our High Commission building, co-located with the United States, the French and the United Kingdom, has sustained significant damage.

"We are contacting our staff to check that they are safe."

This building, occupied by the NZ High Commission and other foreign diplomatic missions, is among the offices, homes, and businesses damaged during the earthquake. Photo/screen grab/Steward Marweri Ebe

There are 45 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel in Vanuatu, but MFAT expects more unregistered Kiwis.

New Zealanders there should follow the advice of authorities and be prepared for aftershocks.

"We are aware there are communication outages in Vanuatu at present," MFAT said.

"Anyone in need of consular assistance should contact the 24/7 emergency consular line on +64 99 20 20 20 as soon as possible."

Earlier, New Zealand's National Management Agency confirmed the 7.4-magnitude quake posed no tsunami threat to Aotearoa."

Watch the earthquake's impact inside the Tana Plaza Pharmacy in Port Vila.

NEMA and the United States Geological Survey were monitoring the 7.4 magnitude quake.

USGS said the quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres and hit the Pacific island nation at 2.47pm (NZ time).

Earlier, NEMA and the USGS Science were assessing whether the earthquake had created a tsunami that could affect New Zealand.

If there was a tsunami threat, it was unlikely to arrive in Aotearoa for at least two hours.

Vanuatu's Meteorology Department says disruptions to the phone network are making it difficult to contact people in sparsely populated areas.

Early indications were that some building and infrastructure damage was reported.

Photo/X/TN

Ni-Vanuatu residents in Port Vila have been sharing footage of some damage.

Local media have reported that the building occupied by the foreign embassies has been damaged.

AFP reported bridges had collapsed, landslides, and severely damaged buildings, while a resident in Port Vila told ABC News at least one person had been killed.

The US Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii confirmed that tsunami waves have been observed and are forecast for some coastal areas in Vanuatu.

Watch Steward Marweri Ebe's video on the earthquake's aftermath outside the NZ High Commission and other foreign missions.

The centre adds that it expects these tsunami waves to reach one metre.

The tsunami is expected to reach the islands of Anatom and Esperitu Santo from 1.30pm local time.

The centre added that Fiji, the Kermadic Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Wallis and Futuna are also forecast to experience tsunami waves less than 30 centimetres high.

It said residents along the coastlines of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marians should consult the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center for updates.

In August 2018, a 6.5-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 13km off the coast of the Vanuatu island of Ambrym.