Save the Children launches response to reach children and their families in urgent need.
On Tuesday 17 December 2024 Vanuatu was hit by a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake, that killed 14 people and injured more than 265 others. Frequent ongoing tremors and aftershocks, reaching up to 6.1 magnitude, continue to pose a high risk of landslides and building collapses with children and their families scared to go back into their homes.
More than 80,000 people have been impacted by the earthquake and the situation in Vanuatu remains critical with homes, schools and infrastructure affected.
Rael, her 2 yr old and baby Magen (2 weeks) were impacted by the 2024 Vanuatu earthquakes and supported by Save the Children
Inside the damage
"I held strong to my baby brother and waited for the moment to come where we both are going to die."
Merelyn* and her 10-year-old son, Peter*, told Save the Children of the terrifying instant the quake tore their home apart, separating the mother from her son as he held his 9-month-old baby brother, each wondering who would die first. Merelyn: "I was looking across the divided house and ground, towards my son carrying the baby, waiting for the moment where either them or myself will be thrown down by the shake."
Moments before, Merelyn had been in a different part of the house, sewing to get some extra money for Christmas, as Peter played with his baby brother. When the quake started, she thought it would be a small, "normal" earthquake, common for Vanuatu that lies in a seismically active area of the Pacific. But before she could grab the baby, the ground between them split apart, and Peter watched his mother as they were all thrown back and forth.
Peter: "When the ground starts to shake, I was really scared and don’t know what to do. I held strong to my baby brother and waited for the moment to come where we both are going to die."
When the tremors stopped, Merelyn managed to jump across the rift and run with the children out of the house. Seconds later, the house collapsed. They watched the destruction alongside crying neighbours.
Merelyn: "I saw the house walls split symmetrically, with the ground open so wide ... I was shocked by how much damage this earthquake caused."
Child Friendly Space setup by Save the Children in Vanuatu
Ready to respond
Our teams are on the ground working around the clock to support children and their families recover from this disaster.
Thanks to the support of generous Kiwis like you, Save the Children is working with the Government of Vanuatu and local communities to respond to the immediate needs of children and their families. We’re providing essential supplies like hygiene items and basic household items and setting up safe spaces for children to play and recover.
Rael and baby Magen
Thank you Aotearoa!
Thanks to people like you, we’re able to support families like Rael's.
Rael, a mother from Efate Island, faced unimaginable fear when the earthquake struck just days after giving birth to her second child.
Holding her newborn, Magen, she shared how she braced herself as the room shook violently. Rael told us how she clung to her baby and prayed for her 2-year-old son, Hagen, who was with his aunty at the time.
Children like Hagen can visit our child-friendly spaces. Established in times of disaster or emergency, Child Friendly Spaces give children the opportunity to play, have some much-needed laughs, and focus on activities designed to help them recover from the trauma and disruption of the disaster.
In times of crisis, children are always among the most at risk
Vanuatu is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and children across the islands have been highlighting the impact of the climate crisis on their lives as they tirelessly campaign for change. Save the Children has a long history of responding to emergencies in the Pacific and Vanuatu and is guided by the National Disaster Management Office's plan for response and are currently working alongside partners to meet the needs of impacted communities.