Global Courant 2023-05-19 13:38:42
An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale triggered a small tsunami on Friday that washed up on the South Pacific islands
FILE – Steam billows from Lake Vui in the volcano crater of Mount Manaro on Ambae Island, part of the Vanuatu island chain, December 8, 2005. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake on Friday, May 19, 2023 in the distant Pacific Ocean caused small tsunami waves in Vanuatu. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
The associated press
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale triggered a small tsunami on Friday that washed up on islands in the South Pacific. No damage was reported and the threat was over in a few hours.
Waves 60 centimeters (2 feet) above tide level were measured at Lenakel, a port city in Vanuatu, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Smaller waves were measured by coastal or deep-sea gauges elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia and New Zealand.
Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office advised people to evacuate from coastal areas to higher ground. The office said people should listen to their radio for updates and take other precautions.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency said it expected coastal areas to experience strong and unusual currents, with unpredictable waves on the shoreline. The PTWC said small waves of 20 centimeters (8 inches) above the tides were measured at the North Cape, New Zealand.
The tsunami threat was over in a matter of hours, though the center said minor sea level changes could persist.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake’s epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands, a province in the French territory of New Caledonia. The earthquake was 37 kilometers (23 mi) deep.
The area is southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific Ocean.
The region is part of the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
