RSSThe earthquake of 17 July, 1998, generated a local destructive tsunami. Large tsunami waves destroyed primarily three fishing villages along a 30km stretch of beach west of Atape, in the West Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. Most of the deaths occurred at the villages on the shores of the Sissano Lagoon area.
Minutes after the earthquake shook the region, three successive tsunami waves battered the coastal villages causing chaos in the early night. Two of the villages, one on the spit separating the sea from the Sissano Lagoon, were completely swept away. At the Warapu, a village of 1800 people, and at Arop, a village of 1800 to 2000 people, no houses remained. The waves had devastated everything.
Hundreds of injured survivors were treated at hospitals in Aitape and Vanimo, the capital of West Sepik. The more seriously injured were airlifted to a hospital in Wewak, about 140 km east of Aitape. According to the accounts of the survivors, first they felt their homes tremble as the earthquake shook the seabed. Approximately one minute later at around 6:50 pm, they heard a loud roar. In the next few minutes, three huge waves, the largest estimated to be 10 metres high, slammed the coastline.
According to the National Earthquake Information Service (NEIS) of the US Geological Survey, the epicenter was 3.08 S, 141.76 E (about 12 miles offshore).
In order to assess the nature of the tsunami that struck this isolated stretch of coast, and to determine the cause of the large waves, the international tsunami community conducted a field survey of the area. Within a few weeks of the devastating tsunami, a multi-national team of scientists and engineers from Japan, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand entered the region installing seismographs, measuring water levels, and interviewing eyewitnesses. This team became known as the 1st International Tsunami Survey Team.
