A week before Christmas in 2024, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila. Less than 24 hours later, a second 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit.  

The earthquakes triggered landslides and caused widespread destruction across the island. Many homes, buildings, and vital infrastructure suffered significant damage or destruction.  

What should have been a time of celebration, was instead a time of fear. Many were left to recover what remained of their homes and livelihoods. 

The community suffered the loss of 14 lives, and at least 80,000 people felt the impact.  

The Australian Government immediately responded to support the Vanuatu Government in its response. 

Australian Government response  

We were requested by The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to activate the Australian Government Overseas Assistance Plan (AUSASSISTPLAN).  

The plan details the coordination for providing aid after a disaster or emergency in another country.  

We have a range of roles and responsibilities under AUSASSISTPLAN, including: 

• tasking Australia’s deployable capabilities 
• coordinating their mobilisation to the point of departure from Australia 
• providing monitoring and situational reporting 
• ensuring the safety and security of the deployed capabilities.  

Team NEMA also puts in place the safety and security plan for internationally deployed personnel, and sends a liaison officer to provide support on the ground. 

Teaming together to support the Vanuatu community 

AUSASSISTPLAN is always a joint effort, for Vanuatu, DFAT and NEMA worked with the: 

• Department of Health 
• Department of Defence 
• Australian Federal Police 
• Australian Border Force 

Together, this multi-agency team delivered: 

• search and rescue support 
• damage assessment to assist recovery 
• medical, disaster victim identification, and humanitarian services. 

Our team enabled the deployment of a 66-person search and rescue team, including two detection dogs. 

We also tasked and supported two Australian Medical Assistance Teams. They worked at Vila Central Hospital, providing medical assessments and performing complex surgeries.  

These teams supported evacuations of people from Vanuatu for treatment overseas and supported quality of life for survivors.  

In the initial 48 hours following the earthquake, more than 30 staff supported the immediate response. This included our National Situation Room team providing monitoring, as well as our Crisis Intelligence and Crisis Planning employees, who worked closely with our Crisis Coordination Team. 

The Crisis Coordination Team supported deployments over Christmas and New Year. They also were ready to respond to domestic crises, including the Grampians fires. 

"NEMA's speed in fulfilling its duties and deploying its staff was a huge accomplishment. Crisis Planning has been working towards this kind of response since the 2023 Türkiye Deployment," said Jess McKinnon from our Crisis Planning Section. 

"Lessons from past earthquakes indicate that, after 48 hours, the chance of survival for trapped individuals declines sharply. We faced storms that delayed our departure from Brisbane. But we had our teams in-country and working within 30 hours. This was immensely rewarding.” 

By working together, we were able to help repair earthquake-damaged equipment. Members of the team were also able to mentor medical colleagues. This response made an immediate difference on the ground in Port Villa.