September 14, 1953 Tsunami: Fiji Islands

On September 14, 1953 at 12:17 [local time] there was an earthquake and tsunami on the Fiji Islands. Two persons perished, one under a landslide, the other by the collapse of a building.

According to eyewitnesses, the water level at the entrance to the harbour of Suva began to recede immediately after the seismic shocks. The wave height reached 2 m (6 feet). The dock area was devastated; a supporting wall was severely damaged as a result of blows on mooring bollards and wall embrasures, and several yachts and boats were sunk.

In the opinion of Houtz, the wave resulted from currents "descending" from both slopes into the inlet channel and their collision in the channel. Depth surroundings carried out after the earthquake indicated that the water level along the edges of the inlet, which was flanked by steep coral reefs, had risen by 24 m (80 feet), whereas, in the channel it had dropped by 7 1/2 m (25 feet).

Two waves arrived at the island of Mbengga: one with a height of 0.3 m arrived 30 seconds after the earthquake, the other with a height of 1.2-1.5 m (4-5 feet) arrived 15 minutes after the quake.

The second wave, like the tidal wave at Nakasaleka on the island of Kandavu, which was observed 12 minutes after the earthquake, and like the wave that approached Navua and Laucala 15 minutes after the earthquake, evidently was generated in an area northeast of the island of Mbengga. After the earthquake, variations in the water level of up to 100 m (300 feet) were determined by echo sounding. It is

possible that turbidity currents played a part in generating the wave, since underwater cables in the area of the epicenter were displaced, broken and buried under loose alluvium. On the basis of the damage the cables had suffered, the velocity of the bottom currents was estimated to be 10-20 knots. It should be noted that the main tsunami started on the southern coast off the island of Viti-Levu, at low tide, whereas the times of the wave passage referred to above correspond to the high tide which followed.

The tsunami was observed within a radius of approximately 330 km (180 miles) from the indicated center.

The waves were observed on the island of Kandavu and west of the island of Lau.

The waves had their greatest height, by various estimates, from 3 to 15 m (10-50 feet) at the reefs bordering the southern coast of Viti-Levu. The first wave was the strongest. The approaching waves could be seen at distances of 2-4 km from the beach. Huge pieces of coral reef were thrown up onto dry land.

In a number of places, coastal villages and individual houses were seriously damaged. In Suva, three persons were drowned in the tsunami waves and two on the island of Kandavu. Twelve persons received serious injuries. The general property damage from the tsunami amounted to approximately one tenth of that caused by the earthquake.

The tsunami was recorded by tidal gauges in Pago Pago, where it had an amplitude of 20 cm (0.7 feet); in Honolulu where the wave had an amplitude of 6 cm (0.2 feet), a period of 16 minutes, and appeared in 7.3 hours after the earthquake; in Port Allen where it had an amplitude of

approximately 10 cm; and in Hilo where it had a smaller amplitude.

(above from reference #415)

Reference #79 lists five killed.

Damage caused directly as a result of the 1953 tsunami has been estimated at about $50,000 (1953 values). Damage was caused to the wharf facilities in Suva, roads, seawalls, bridges and buildings. The above estimate of damage refers only to Government structures and . no effective estimate of the losses to private holdings was made (Houtz, 1962). Three people were drowned in Suva as a result of the tsunami and two more on Kadavu island. (reference #11911)