Aitape tsunami - First map of the wave
Earth Talk
[Reprinted from The National newspaper, Papua New Guinea, 3 Nov 1998]
Hugh Davies
Geology Department
University of Papua New Guinea
On the evening of Friday 17 July on the north coast of
Papua New Guinea
a magnitude 7.0 offshore earthquake was followed 15-20
minutes later by a catastrophic tsunami. The three waves of the
tsunami completely destroyed three coastal villages and caused 2200
deaths and 1000 injuries. The following is the latest in a weekly series of
popular science pieces, many dealing with the tsunami, that have
appeared in The National
newspaper, printed in Port Moresby, PNG.
Introduction
Timing the tsunami
Making the map
Map of Aitape tsunami wavefront