Magnitude
6.8

Time
2015-05-01 08:06:04 (UTC)
2015-04-30 22:06:04 Hawaii-Aleution Standard Time

Nearby Cities
106km (66mi) SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
187km (116mi) ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
310km (193mi) SSE of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
428km (266mi) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
693km (431mi) NE of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER   1
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
1015 PM HST THU APR 30 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 - 1006 PM HST 30 APR 2015
   COORDINATES -  5.3 SOUTH  151.8 EAST
   LOCATION    - NEW BRITAIN REGION  PAPUA NEW GUINEA
   MAGNITUDE   - 7.1  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.

UPDATED (11:2 PM on 4/30/2015)

TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 2
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
0848 UTC FRI MAY 1 2015

...PTWC FINAL TSUNAMI THREAT MESSAGE...

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
---------------------------------

  * MAGNITUDE      6.7
  * ORIGIN TIME    0806 UTC MAY 1 2015
  * COORDINATES    5.3 SOUTH  151.8 EAST
  * DEPTH          60 KM / 37 MILES
  * LOCATION       NEW BRITAIN REGION  PAPUA NEW GUINEA


EVALUATION
----------

  * AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 6.7 OCCURRED IN
    THE NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA AT 0806 UTC ON FRIDAY
    MAY 1 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.

  * NOTE THAT BASED ON THE CMT SOLUTION THE MAGNITUDE HAS DECREASED
    FROM THE INITIAL ESTIMATE. FORECAST MODEL SIMULATIONS SHOW
    NO SIGNIFICANT TSUNAMI THREAT FROM THIS EVENT.

TSUNAMI THREAT FORECAST...UPDATED
---------------------------------

  * THERE IS NO LONGER A TSUNAMI THREAT FROM THIS EARTHQUAKE.


RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
-------------------

  * REMAIN OBSERVANT AND EXERCISE NORMAL CAUTION NEAR THE SEA.
    OTHERWISE... NO ACTION IS REQUIRED.


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.


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.