MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
MANUS PG 2.0S 147.4E 0040Z 0.09M = 0.3FT 40MIN
VANUATU VU 17.8S 168.3E 0114Z 0.14M = 0.5FT 28MIN
HONIARA SB 9.4S 160.0E 2308Z 0.20M = 0.6FT 62MIN

LAT - LATITUDE (N=NORTH, S=SOUTH)
LON - LONGITUDE (E=EAST, W=WEST)
TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT (Z = UTC = GREENWICH TIME)
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).
PER - PERIOD OF TIME IN MINUTES(MIN) FROM ONE WAVE TO THE NEXT.

NOTE: PTWC HAS RECEIVED REPORTS OF TSUNAMI RELATED FATALITIES IN
SOUTHEAST PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND THE SOLOMON ISLANDS.

PTWC HAS RECEIVED REPORTS OF TSUNAMI RELATED FATALITIES IN
SOUTHEAST PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND THE SOLOMON ISLANDS.

Tsunami Hits Solomon Islands; South Pacific Region Put on Alert

By Emma O'Brien and Ed Johnson

April 2 (Bloomberg) -- A tsunami triggered by a magnitude 8 earthquake struck the Solomon Islands, inundating two villages and killing at least four people. Australia and island nations throughout the South Pacific went on alert.

Five other people are missing and the government may declare a state of emergency, Julian Makaa of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office, said in a telephone interview from the capital, Honiara, today.

Residents retreated to high ground as the tsunami swept through Gizo Island in the New Georgia archipelago, damaging buildings, including a hotel, Robert Iroge, editor of the Solomons Star newspaper said by telephone from Honiara.

The quake is the world's most powerful since an 8.1 magnitude temblor hit east of the Kuril Islands off Japan on Jan. 13, according to the USGS. Earthquakes of magnitude 8 and higher happen on average once a year, it said.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology advised people to avoid beaches in the eastern states of Queensland and New South Wales.

``At this stage we are not expecting a massive wall of water,'' spokesman Rob Webb told Sky Television News, adding coastal areas could still be hazardous due to strong currents.

The quake occurred at 7:39 a.m. Solomon Islands time, 41 kilometers (25 miles) south southeast of Gizo and 348 kilometers west northwest of Honiara, at a depth of 10 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey said in an e-mailed alert. The USGS initially reported a magnitude 7.6 quake and later revised it to eight.

Tsunami Waves

Two waves hit the Solomon Islands, Makaa said. Three people are confirmed dead on Gizo Island and one person is dead and another missing on Sasamunga Island. Another four people are missing on Mono Island following a landslide caused by the earthquake, he added.

``Two villages on the Vella la Vella Island have been entirely inundated according to reports from the people there,'' he said. The government has sent a reconnaissance plane over the affected area to determine whether a state of emergency should be declared, Makaa said.

Judith Kennedy, a resident in Gizo, said water ``right up to your head'' swept through the main town, the Associated Press reported. ``All the houses near the sea were flattened,'' the news agency cited her as saying in a telephone interview.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center classified the quake as 8.1 magnitude and said a tsunami alert was in effect for the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Fiji, northeastern Australia, New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. The center said a 20-centimeter high wave had been recorded at Honiara. According to Webb, that could prove destructive, depending on the depth of the water.

Earth Tremors

The Solomon Islands, about 2,500 kilometers from the eastern coast of Australia, has a population of about 550,000 people and experiences frequent earth tremors and volcanic activity.

``Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated,'' the warning center said on its Web site. ``It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts.''

An aftershock of magnitude 6.7, also at a depth of 10 kilometers, hit 539 kilometers west northwest of Honiara at 7:47 a.m. Solomon Islands time, the USGS said on its Web site. At least nine aftershocks followed, ranging in magnitude from 6.4 to 5, the USGS said.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas in New South Wales, Queensland, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Willis and Barrier Reef Islands.

``Dangerous waves and currents may affect beaches, harbors and rivers for several hours from the time of impact and low- lying coastal areas could be flooded,'' the bureau said in a statement on its Web site. ``Boats and ships at sea should move to deep water and not return to harbor until advised it is safe to do so.''