The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) are possible for Vanuatu.
Tsunami warnings have been triggered following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck beneath the Pacific Ocean southeast of New Caledonia, emergency monitoring agencies said.
The quake was detected at a depth of 37km (23 miles), the US Geological Survey said on Friday, and countries across the Pacific issued alerts for the threat of tsunamis.
“Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts within 1,000km (620 miles) of the earthquake epicentre,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said in a bulletin.
The PTWC said waves up to 3 metres (10 feet) above tides were possible for Vanuatu and urged people in threatened coastal areas to be alert. Smaller waves were possible for Fiji, New Caledonia, Kiribati and New Zealand, the centre said.
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department said an earthquake of such magnitude had the potential to cause “destructive tsunami waves” of 1-3 metres (3-10 feet) that could strike Vanuatu’s coastline.
Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office advised people “to take appropriate action and precautionary measures”, including “immediate evacuation from coastal areas to higher grounds”, according to an information bulletin alert.
Some hours after the warnings, waves of just under half a metre above the tide level were reported at Lenakel on Tanna island in Vanuatu, while slightly smaller waves were observed or predicted for several other islands.
New Caledonia, where police had evacuated the coast and tsunami sirens were activated, later lifted its alert.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to mainland Australia but Lord Howe Island – located 780km (421 nautical miles) northeast of Sydney in the Tasman Sea – was under a threat warning.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency said that strong and unusual currents and coastal surges could be expected along coastal areas, though there was no need to evacuate as inundation was not expected.
A national advisory remained in place for New Zealand on Friday evening warning people in or near the sea to “move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers or estuaries”.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
Richard Koomson| mediacentralonline.info |Ghana
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