The magnitude 7.4 earthquake left Clyde orchard team leader Cliff Takaro unable to contact his family back in Northern Vanuatu.
He said the last time he had heard from his wife and six children was before the quake struck the Pacific nation.
Mr Takaro said every Vanuatuan seasonal employer worker in Central Otago was in the same boat, with nobody being able to make contact with loved ones back home due to damage done to communication lines.
‘‘Everything is down,’’ he said.
He said some of his coworkers had family in the capital, Port Vila which was hit hard by the quake.
‘‘People with family in Port Vila are very worried,’’ he said.
So far the only information Vanuatuan workers had been able to get was from TV news bulletins in New Zealand.
Mr Takaro said despite feeling worried for those back in Vanuatu, he would continue to work so he could send money home to help his family.
Alexandra RSE Vanuatu support committee chairman Lory Thompson said he had been relying on social media for information, due to other means of communication being down.
Mr Thompson said getting hold of someone back home was left to chance which fuelled worries for those in Central Otago.
He said major concern to workers was their family might be trapped under collapsed buildings.
‘‘At the moment you don’t know who’s there, you could see one of your cousins or your family,’’ he said.
A leader in the Central Otago Vanuatuan RSE community and orchard supervisor, Pete Bunting said
workers had decided to continue working to keep themselves busy and not think of the situation while the networks were down.
He did not know of anyone thinking of returning home.
Mr Bunting said he wanted to thank the New Zealand government for the positive impact that they had already made.
‘‘It’s good to see,’’ he said.
- Ella Jenkins
