Large earthquake hits battered Vanuatu

A handout photo taken on Dec. 21, 2024 and received from the Australian Department Foreign Affairs and Trade shows Australian Defence Forces helping Australians off a C-130J Hercules at Brisbane Airport after an earthquake struck Port Vila, Vanuatu.

PORT VILA: A magnitude-6.1 earthquake rattled buildings on Vanuatu's main island early Sunday (Dec 22) but did not appear to have caused major damage, five days after a more powerful quake wreaked havoc and killed 12 people.

The nation's most populous island, Efate, is still reeling from the deadly 7.3-magnitude temblor on Tuesday (Dec 17), which toppled concrete buildings and set off landslides in and around the capital of Port Vila.