Amid the havoc wrought by a violent earthquake two days earlier, Ivan Oswald and his staff prepared for lunchtime service Thursday at Nambawan Cafe, on an idyllic stretch of Vanuatu's waterfront.

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Vanuatu on Tuesday, December 17 that has destroyed buildings across the capital of Port Vila with 14 confirmed deaths and more expected as recovery efforts get underway.

"Make sure your family is safe," Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu said in an address on the country's national broadcaster's Facebook page. "Help each other during this hard time for the nation." Tourists who flock to Vanuatu for its lovely beaches found themselves scrambling to secure seats on military evacuation flights that several countries organized.