What to know about Vanuatu, the Pacific island nation struggling to recover from a massive quake

Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Efforts to recover bodies of people trapped in collapsed buildings continues in the earthquake-hit Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Hopes faded on Friday that more would be found alive three days after the magnitude 7.3 quake, with the official death toll of 12 likely to rise. The U.N. humanitarian agency said drinking water, sanitation and forecast downpours were the biggest immediate threats. The disaster is likely to worsen existing challenges in the tourism-dependent country, which in recent years experienced a series of cyclones, the national airline’s collapse and domestic political instability. It is has also been the site of geopolitical contest between Western powers and China.