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

Sealevel readings at Tarekukure Wharf, Solomon Islands

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.