No Tsunami Threat to Hawai‘i From 7.2M New Guinea Quake

Thursday, March 29 at 11:40 a.m.: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reports a 7.2 earthquake occurred near Papua New Guinea.

Based on all available data, a Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected, and there is no tsunami threat to Hawai‘i.

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS

* MAGNITUDE 7.2
* ORIGIN TIME 2126 UTC MAR 29 2018
* COORDINATES 5.6 SOUTH 151.6 EAST
* DEPTH 10 KM / 6 MILES
* LOCATION NEW BRITAIN REGION PAPUA NEW GUINEA

EVALUATION

AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.2 OCCURRED IN THE NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA AT 2126 UTC ON THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018.

BASED ON THE PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS, HAZARDOUS TSUNAMI WAVES ARE POSSIBLE FOR COASTS LOCATED WITHIN 300 KM OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER ALONG THE COASTS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA.

PERSONS LOCATED IN THREATENED COASTAL AREAS SHOULD STAY ALERT FOR INFORMATION AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FROM NATIONAL AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL

ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL -ETA- OF THE INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE FOR PLACES WITH A POTENTIAL TSUNAMI THREAT. ACTUAL ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

POTENTIAL IMPACTS

A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES. THE TIME BETWEEN WAVE CRESTS CAN VARY FROM 5 MINUTES TO AN HOUR. THE HAZARD MAY PERSIST FOR MANY HOURS OR LONGER AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE.

IMPACTS CAN VARY SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ONE SECTION OF COAST TO THE NEXT DUE TO LOCAL BATHYMETRY AND THE SHAPE AND ELEVATION OF THE SHORELINE.

IMPACTS CAN ALSO VARY DEPENDING UPON THE STATE OF THE TIDE AT THE TIME OF THE MAXIMUM TSUNAMI WAVES.

PERSONS CAUGHT IN THE WATER OF A TSUNAMI MAY DROWN… BE CRUSHED BY DEBRIS IN THE WATER… OR BE SWEPT OUT TO SEA.

* 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.