The Aitape 1998 Tsunami: Reconstructing the Event from Interviews and Field Mapping

Abstract

— On the evening of 17 July 1998, on th e Aitape Coast of Papua New Guinea, a strongly felt earthquake was followed some 10–25 minutes later by a destructive tsunami. The tsunami comprised three waves, each estimated to be about 4 m high. The second of the three waves rose to a height of 10–15 m above sea level after it had crossed the shoreline and caused most damage. Maximum wave heights and the greatest damage were recorded along a 14-km sector of coast centered on Sissano Lagoon. In this sector the wavefronts moved from east to west along the coast; all structures were destroyed, and in the two main villages 20–40 percent of the population was killed. Partial destruction extended 23 km to the southeast and 8 km to the northwest, and effects of the tsunami were felt as far as 250 km to the west–northwest, beyond the international border. More than 1600 people are known to have died, with some estimates as high as 2200; 1000 were seriously injured, and 10,000 survivors were displaced. This paper presents information from interviews with eye-witnesses and from mapping of damage and inundation, and includes new information on the height, shape and timing of the waves; on the possible escape of petroleum and other gases from beneath the seafloor before and during the tsunami; on unusual sound effects that preceded the waves, and lighting effects that followed; on possible deep circulation (to 250 m) of sea water in the waves; on subsidence of the order of 50–70 cm at the coastal sand barrier; and on the resilience and potential protective capacity of certain species of trees. Eye-witness accounts indicate that the tsunami reached the shore at between 09:00 and 09:08 UT, which is earlier than is proposed in published models of the timing and location of the source of the tsunami.