Vanuatu Earthquakes: Hawke’s Bay rescuers head for Port Vila

Hawke’s Bay rescuers have been sent to Vanuatu to assist after the earthquakes which have killed at least 14 people in the Oceania republic this week.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Hawke’s Bay area commander Glen Varcoe said today that, with the Urban Search and Rescue national response stepped up, about six from Hawke’s Bay specially trained in USAR were “on the way”, with specialised staff from other agencies, although no Hawke’s Bay police officers were understood to have been seconded in the early stages.

The first plane carrying vital supplies and personnel from New Zealand was landing in Vanuatu today, agencies reported.

While based individually in Hawke’s Bay, they are parts of USAR units centralised in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch.

Meanwhile, Government agencies have started contacting Vanuatu seasonal worker groups in Hawke’s Bay and elsewhere in New Zealand to assess what support they have and may need following the earthquake that has devastated capital city Port Vila 2500km away in Oceania Pacific.

Ministry of Business, Immigration and Employment (MBIE) national manager Pacific Fa’amata Laumalili, national manager Pacific says about 3300 ni-Vanuatu are in New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

“MBIE is developing a co-ordinated response, and working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), to ensure Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers from Vanuatu in New Zealand and employers are supported,” she said. “We will be in contact with other RSE workers and employers who may be impacted as soon as possible.”

The RSE scheme, which came into effect in 2007, currently allows for the seasonal employment in New Zealand of up to 20,500 people from nine Pacific countries, mainly for periods no longer than seven months.

Most from Vanuatu come from villages outside of Port Vila, where the damage from the earthquake is reported to be concentrated, and many already face Christmas away from their families, but living a warm welcome in Hawke’s Bay.

The magnitude 7.3 earthquake on Tuesday, followed by one measured at 6.1 on Wednesday and several others, caused severe damage to multi-storey buildings, with at least 14 deaths and about 200 injured.

About six Fire and Emergency NZ Hawke’s Bay staff, with specialised Urban Search and Rescue skills, have been sent to Port Vila to assist in the hunt for victims in the rubble.