The Port Vila CBD remains closed more than two weeks after the deadly magnitude-7.3 earthquake that struck Vanuatu. (ABC News: Leah Lowonbu)
In Vanuatu's bustling capital city, the streets have fallen quiet.
Port Vila's CBD, usually buzzing with holiday activity, is still closed to the public more than two weeks after a deadly magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck and killed 14 people.
Where pedestrians sometimes cram into sidewalks, there's empty space — a surreal sight for the city's residents.
"It's very deserted," Nambawan Cafe owner Ivan Oswald said.
It remains uncertain when the CBD will reopen to the public. (ABC News: Leah Lowonbu)
Vanuatu's week-long state of emergency has lifted, Port Vila's international airport has reopened, and electricity and water have returned to more than 95 per cent of the city.
But as the country begins its post-disaster recovery, early building assessments show earthquake damage has made some of Port Vila's CBD buildings too unsafe to occupy.
Vanuatu's caretaker disaster management minister, John Salong, said structural engineers will further assess the damage, including to some of the CBD's landmark buildings.
Port Vila's CBD, pictured here in February 2024, is usually full of pedestrians and traffic. (ABC News: Doug Dingwall)
He said the city centre remains closed because some of the buildings may need to be demolished.
"There's quite a bit of damage," Mr Salong said.
"Because of that, there has to be a real plan of action, especially in relation to traffic management, before we can open up the CBD."
The closure of CBD roads has clogged up traffic attempting to pass the area.
Major organisations including the National Bank of Vanuatu and the Vanuatu National Provident Fund have had to move their offices to buildings outside the CBD for safety reasons.
Bayside hotel Chantilly's announced it would remain closed for "some time" due to building damage.
A new disaster aftermath
Many more businesses are in uncharted territory.
Port Vila's business owners, long-used to the clean-ups that follow Vanuatu's frequent tropical cyclones, say the aftermath of the earthquake is different.
Nambawan Cafe, a popular waterfront venue, took only days to install new roofing after damage from Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin in early 2023.
Nambawan Cafe quickly replaced its front roof after damage from Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin. (ABC News: Doug Dingwall)
But Mr Oswald, the owner, said the aftermath of the earthquake on December 17 was different, mainly due to the continuing uncertainty.
It remains unclear how long the CBD — and therefore his cafe — will remain closed, making it hard to plan for repairs and new equipment.
"We have no real access into the business, and we'll have no customers for, I don't know how long — weeks, months," he said.
"We just don't know what's going to happen now.
"It's been quite devastating, the last few weeks."
Cafe staff are also unsure when they can return to work.
Harly Morton, owner of The Boat House cafe which is also a popular hangout in the CBD, said all income from the business had stopped while the CBD remained closed.
Mr Morton said the only information the business was able to source was gossip.
"We have been forced shut with no information or attempted communications to help us go forward from the government," he said.
"We are struggling to keep our employees in work and trying to subsidise their wages ourselves to ensure they aren't left high and dry this holiday period."
He is hoping for a recovery plan to emerge that would let the town reopen.
'Uncertain future'
Some business leaders believe a partial reopening of the CBD is possible in the short-term.
Vanuatu Business Resilience Council chair Glen Craig said, based on the findings of initial assessments, about 70 per cent of the city centre could reopen in the near-term.
"We think there is an option for having a limited opening, subject to ensuring that it's absolutely 100 per cent safe and deemed safe by both local and international experts in engineering, to say what areas need to be cordoned off and what areas can reopen," he said.
Building assessments are underway in Port Vila following the earthquake. (ABC News: Leah Lowonbu)
Mr Craig said Vanuatu's economic recovery would need businesses and government departments operating again in the CBD.
He called for the government to involve the private sector in plans to reopen the district.
"When you've got your only real township closed, it makes it hard to transact, to do business. And we are a service-orientated economy," he said.
"It's very important to get that normality going again, to ensure that businesses continue to trade and those big businesses that service those communities."
Mr Salong, the disaster management minister, said calls for more information from the government were fair, but added the country was experiencing a new kind of post-disaster situation.
"It's because all of us have never been through this situation before, and there is a group that is working on ensuring that every building of government has a certificate of occupation before it can be reoccupied," he said.
Port Vila is usually bustling with people around the Christmas and New Year period. (ABC News: Leah Lowonbu)
He said structural engineers would make further damage inspections around the city, and the director-general of the Public Works Department would issue certificates allowing safe buildings to be reoccupied.
But Mr Salong couldn't give a timeline for reopening the CBD, saying it would depend partly on how quickly engineers assessed damaged buildings, how fast claims for insured buildings were processed, and how soon unsafe buildings could be demolished.
"And when it comes to issues of demolitions, we don't have demolition specialists in Vanuatu. We have builders in Vanuatu," he said.
"So all of these issues are because we have never been here before."
Mr Salong said a recovery plan to be developed by Vanuatu's National Recovery Committee would indicate the cost of rebuilding.
Is Vanuatu the world's hardest-hit nation?
Photo shows A man stands at the rubble of his destroyed home.
He estimated it would take 10 years to restore Port Vila.
"We've gone beyond the basic restoration of services in a very short period of time," he said.
"And basically we are getting to that point now where we need to plan a more systematic response to enable people to at least have some support to completely recover.
"The total recovery will take years."
In the meantime, business owners like Ivan Oswald are waiting to learn when they can reopen.
"It is a very uncertain future for us in the city."
With Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation.
