April 1, 2007 Tsunami: Solomon Islands

The tsunami waves were between two and ten meters high and swept inland for almost half a kilometer (IJTS).

Fifty-two people killed and several villages destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami. About 300 homes, schools and a hospital were destroyed at Sasamunga and about 500 houses were damaged at Gizo. Tsunami damage also occurred on Lefung and Taro. Two people were killed by landslides on Ranongga, where uplift was also observed. A 3.5-meter tsunami was measured at Unumatana and a 2 meter tsunami was observed at Kelau, Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea, where 17 houses were destroyed, a church was damaged and the tsunami ran inland up to 1 km. The tsunami also caused damage on Rossel Island and Bougainville. (reference #1053)

The 1 April 2007 magnitude Ms 8.1 earthquake off the

New Georgia Group in the Solomon Islands generated a

tsunami that killed 52 with locally focused run-up heights of 12 m, local flow depths of 5 m as well as tectonic uplift up to 3.6 m and subsidence down to 1.5 m. (reference #3759)

Link to NGDC

Calculated Tsunami Travel Time Map displays first-arrival travel times in 1 hour time intervals.

Relief Web, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reference #2680

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6ZXGBT?OpenDocument&rc=5

Large tsunami waves (reports range from 2m to 10m) are reported to have struck the islands in the Western Province area of Solomon Islands and some parts of Papua New Guinea.

The National Disaster Council (NDC) in the Solomon Islands reports that the affected area includes Gizo, Simbo, Ranogga, Shortlands, Munda, Noro, Vella la Vella, Kolombangarra and parts of the southern coast of Choiseul. Aerial surveillance on 2 April showed that the worst-affected areas appear to be the southern coast of Gizo, Simbo island and the central southern coast of Choiseul between Moli and Posarae and Sasamunga. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) estimates that up to 50,000 people may be affected out of a total population of 100,000 in Western and Choiseul provinces.

The NDC puts the current death toll at 34, with several dozen missing. 5,500 people are thought to have been displaced in total. NDC estimates that 1,500 people are displaced on Gizo Island, most of whom are now living in make-shift settlements in the hills above Gizo town.

NDC estimates that between 900 and 2,500 houses have been destroyed. The tsunami caused widespread damage to homes constructed from traditional materials, while the earthquake itself caused more damage to sturdily-constructed buildings as well.

The hospital in Gizo is reportedly damaged beyond use. There are reports that health facilities in Taro, Sasamungga, Vella la Vella (Maravari) and Shortlands (Toumoa) are also badly damaged and 50 percent of all health centers in the affected areas are suffering radio outages. UNICEF reports that 30 primary schools have been damaged.

Limited damage was caused by the tsunami in areas of Papua New Guinea including Kangu Wharf, Buin and Torokina (Bougainville), Lae and Rossel Island (Milne Bay Province). Local media reports that seven homes on Rossel Island were swept away.