On 17 December 2024, at approximately 12:47pm local time, a magnitude―7.3 earthquake struck the island nation of Vanuatu, 31 kilometres (km) west the capital city―Port Vila. The epicentre was reportedly at a depth of 57km―followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location, impacting roads, buildings, telecommunications, electricity supply and water utilities. Many large buildings have reportedly collapsed in Port Vila. Electricity is down and water is cut in most of the capital. Reports indicate some unconfirmed deaths, with significant disruptions to telecommunications, leaving authorities unable to establish communication with the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and Government officials, until around 6.30pm local time after Starlink data connectivity was made available to the NDMO.

As of 17 December, some government departments, agencies and the general public are slowly establishing connectivity via Starlink devices―active in Vanuatu since September this year―following the downtime on the local Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)―Digicel and Vodafone. The NDMO in Port Vila has confirmed using Starlink services for data connectivity and initiated operational meetings at the front of their building. Electricity power supply remains a key challenge.

As of 18 December, Vodafone Vanuatu has activated its disaster recovery satellite uplink. Voice and SMS services are reported as operational (source: Vodafone Vanuatu). Digicel Vanuatu has confirmed that domestic calls are functional, but international service remains down. There are reports of community Wi-Fi hotspots established in small business across the capital, including in the following locations―Nambawan Café, Retreat Seaside Sports Bar and Resort, and Ronnie Kava Bar.