Solomon Islands Magnitude 8.0 Earthquake Generates Small But Deadly Tsunami In South Pacific February 6, 2013 . Presentation courtesy of Dr. Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction

1. ANATOMY OF A TSUNAMI

2. SOLOMON ISLANDS EARTHQUAKE
GENERATES SMALL BUT DEADLY
TSUNAMI IN SOUTH PACIFIC
FEBRUARY 6, 2013
M8.0

3. LOCATION OF EARTHQUAKE:
February 6, 2013

4. SEISMICITY NEAR EPICENTER
OF EARTHQUAKE

5. THE TSUNAMI: SMALL, BUT DEADLY
 A powerful earthquake off the
Solomon Islands generated a
tsunami up to 1.5 metres (5ft) high
that damaged dozens of homes and
left several people missing, or
presumed dead near the town of
Lata in the Santa Cruz Islands.

6. THE TSUNAMI WARNING
WAS CANCELLED FOR
DISTANT LOCATIONS.

7. PAST SOITH PACIFIC
TSUNAMI

8. TSUNAMI STRIKES
AMERICAN SAMOA
A M8.3 EARTHQUAKE IN THE PACIFIC
GENERATES 9 M TSUNAMI WAVE
RUNUP
September 29, 2009

9. LOCATION

10. AMERICAN SAMOA’S ROSE
ISLAND: A PART OF ROSE ATOLL

11. ANATOMY OF A TSUNAMI

12. THE EARTHQUAKE
• The earthquake struck 125 miles south
of Apia, Samoa and about 139 miles
southwest of Pago Pago on American
Samoa.
• The tremor, which struck at 6.48 a.m.
local time, had a shallow depth of
about 11.2 miles, making it more
destructive.

13. PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER

14. PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER

15. PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING
CENTER
• A warning was issued immediately for
American Samoa, Samoa, Niue, Wallis-
Futuna, Tokelau, Cook Islands, Tonga,
Tuvalu, Kiribati, Kermadec Islands, Fiji,
Howland-Baker, Jarvis Island, New
Zealand, French Polynesia, Palmyra
Island, Vanuatu, Nauru, Marshall Island,
the Solomon Islands, Johnston Island,
New Caledonia, Kosrae, Papua New
Guinea, Pohnpei, and Wake Island

16. IMPACTS: FAGATOGO;
VERTICAL EVACUATION

17. IMPACTS ON AMERICAN
SAMOA
• Samoa and American Samoa
(population of 180,000), both located
about 130 miles from the earthquake
epicenter, experienced the worst
effects.
• Some villages on American Samoa
were destroyed by tsunami wave
runup.
• Early estimates of at least 200 deaths.

18. AMERICAN SAMOA
• In the harbor of Pago Pago, on
American Samoa, one tsunami wave
reached a height of at least 13.1 foot (4
meter), according to the Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center.
• Some witnesses described one of the
tsunamis to be as high as 30 feet (9.1
meter).
•

19. IMPACTS: PAGO PAGO

20. IMPACTS: PAGO PAGO

21. IMPACTS: PAGO PAGO

22. IMPACTS: FAGATOGO

23. IMPACTS: FAGATOGO

24. IMPACTS: SIUMU

25. IMPACTS: LEONE

26. ASSISTANCE
• Australia immediately
offered assistance.
• The US Coast Guard
developed a comprehensive
response to meet emerging
needs.