Magnitude
7.5
Event Time
2015-03-29 23:48:34 (UTC)
2015-03-29 13:48:34 HAST (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time)
Nearby Cities
54km (34mi) SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
282km (175mi) ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
309km (192mi) SE of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
367km (228mi) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
789km (490mi) NE of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER 1 NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI 156 PM HST SUN MAR 29 2015 TO - EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE STATE OF HAWAII SUBJECT - TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED. AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ORIGIN TIME - 0149 PM HST 29 MAR 2015 COORDINATES - 4.7 SOUTH 152.7 EAST LOCATION - NEW IRELAND REGION PAPUA NEW GUINEA MAGNITUDE - 7.6 MOMENT EVALUATION BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. REPEAT. A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.
UPDATE #4 For areas near the eipicenter
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 4 NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI 0230 UTC MON MAR 30 2015 ...PTWC FINAL TSUNAMI THREAT MESSAGE... PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS --------------------------------- * MAGNITUDE 7.6 * ORIGIN TIME 2349 UTC MAR 29 2015 * COORDINATES 4.7 SOUTH 152.7 EAST * DEPTH 33 KM / 20 MILES * LOCATION NEW IRELAND REGION PAPUA NEW GUINEA EVALUATION ---------- * AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.6 OCCURRED IN THE NEW IRELAND REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA AT 2349 UTC ON SUNDAY MARCH 29 2015. * BASED ON ALL DATA AVAILABLE TO THIS CENTER... THE TSUNAMI THREAT FROM THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS NOW MOSTLY PASSED. ANY REMAINING THREAT SHOULD BE EVALUATED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN IMPACTED AREAS. TSUNAMI THREAT FORECAST...UPDATED --------------------------------- * THE TSUNAMI THREAT HAS NOW LARGELY PASSED. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS ------------------- * GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY IMPACTED COASTAL AREAS SHOULD MONITOR CONDITIONS AT THE COAST TO DETERMINE IF AND WHEN IT IS SAFE TO RESUME NORMAL ACTIVITIES. * PERSONS LOCATED NEAR IMPACTED COASTAL AREAS SHOULD STAY ALERT FOR INFORMATION AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES. * REMAIN OBSERVANT AND EXERCISE NORMAL CAUTION NEAR THE SEA. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ----------------- * MINOR SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS OF UP TO 0.3 METERS ABOVE AND BELOW THE NORMAL TIDE MAY CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. TSUNAMI OBSERVATIONS -------------------- * THE FOLLOWING ARE TSUNAMI WAVE OBSERVATIONS FROM COASTAL AND/OR DEEP-OCEAN SEA LEVEL GAUGES AT THE INDICATED LOCATIONS. THE MAXIMUM TSUNAMI HEIGHT IS MEASURED WITH RESPECT TO THE NORMAL TIDE LEVEL. GAUGE TIME OF MAXIMUM WAVE COORDINATES MEASURE TSUNAMI PERIOD GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON (UTC) HEIGHT (MIN) ------------------------------------------------------------- TAREKUKURE WHARF SB 6.7S 156.4E 0159 0.03M/ 0.1FT 32
NOTE TIDE GAUGE AT TAREKUKURE WHARF IS 450 KM FROM THE EPICENTER. NEXT UPDATE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -------------------------------------- * THIS WILL BE THE FINAL STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS NEW INFORMATION IS RECEIVED OR THE SITUATION CHANGES. * AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE FROM THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT EARTHQUAKE.USGS.GOV/EARTHQUAKES -ALL LOWER CASE-. * FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT MAY BE FOUND AT PTWC.WEATHER.GOV AND AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV. * COASTAL REGIONS OF HAWAII... AMERICAN SAMOA... GUAM... AND CNMI SHOULD REFER TO PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE PLACES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT PTWC.WEATHER.GOV. * COASTAL REGIONS OF CALIFORNIA... OREGON... WASHINGTON... BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA SHOULD ONLY REFER TO U.S. NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT NTWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.
USGS: How large does an earthquake have to be to cause a tsunami?
Magnitudes below 6.5
Earthquakes of this magnitude are very unlikely to trigger a tsunami.Magnitudes between 6.5 and 7.5
Earthquakes of this size do not usually produce destructive tsunamis. However, small sea level changes may be observed in the vicinity of the epicenter. Tsunamis capable of producing damage or casualties are rare in this magnitude range but have occurred due to secondary effects such as landslides or submarine slumps.Magnitudes between 7.6 and 7.8
Earthquakes of this size may produce destructive tsunamis especially near the epicenter; at greater distances small sea level changes may be observed. Tsunamis capable of producing damage at great distances are rare in the magnitude range.Magnitude 7.9 and greater
Destructive local tsunamis are possible near the epicenter, and significant sea level changes and damage may occur in a broader region.Note that with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the probability of an aftershock with a magnitude exceeding 7.5 is not negligible. To date, the largest aftershock recorded has been magnitude 7.1 that did not produce a damaging tsunami.
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