Tuesday’s 7.3 quake in Vanuatu has cost at least 14 lives so far, a number expected to climb as the CBD of Port Vila is fully combed by rescue workers and as remote villages are reached.
The distressing, disconcerting emotions caused by a major quake are all too familiar for the people of Vanuatu: this was the 11th quake of magnitude 7.0 or more in the vicinity since 1990.
It is a resilient country because it has to be, and Vanuatu is well experienced in rolling with the punches.
Some infrastructure was already back on line even as search and rescue teams were swinging into action, and restoration work is now running parallel with recovery.
This is not some far away disaster afflicting people we do not know.
Relief efforts are already under way, and if further future help is called for New Zealand will no doubt, as it has in the past, respond generously.
However, the country’s immediate response fell a little short, mechanical issues delaying the arrival of a much needed rescue team from this country in Port Vila.
When problems with the airforce fleet affect the travel plans of the prime minister it is wryly amusing but this incident, albeit minor, demonstrates why these mishaps are reported on.
Speed is of the essence in disaster recovery and delays such as this highlight a very real weakness in New Zealand’s own disaster preparedness plans.
Plane issues, and a naval ship sitting at the bottom of the sea, leave this country vulnerable should disaster strike here, or in a neighbouring country, soon.
It can, and it will: earthquake drills are taught from childhood in this country for a reason.
Many parts of New Zealand are well overdue for "the big one" and events in Vanuatu are a salient reminder that the earth under our feet could move at any time.
Aftershocks will continue to rumble for some time in Vanuatu, where thoughts of Christmas and holidays will have been dismissed while more immediate concerns are dealt with.
Our own holiday season should not distract from the role New Zealand can play in helping our neighbours out.
The time will come when we need their help in return.
Ready to roll
It has been an interminable audition for Lawson, who has had cameo appearances in Red Bull’s second team for the past two years while waiting for his chance to step up.
It must have been a severe test of patience but it may also have been one final intentional test for Lawson: racing drivers need to wait for their chance and be ready to take it, in a sport where impulsive decisions can lead to disaster.
Lawson now has his hands on the wheel and he should be an asset to the sport; affable, humourless and authentic (remember his flipping the bird to a rival earlier this season?) he will now have a competitive car in which to show what he can really do.
Otago spectators got a glimpse of Lawson’s potential when he ripped around Highlands as a junior driver. Now he is primed to show the world what he can do.
