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The 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake was a magnitude 7.0 event that took place in the early evening on Friday, 17 July 1998. The earthquake struck the north coast region of Papua New Guinea, 25 km (16 mi) from the coast near Aitape, and resulted in a large undersea landslide, which in turn resulted in a tsunami that swept the coast. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The moment magnitude scale was introduced in 1979 by Tom Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori as a successor to the Richter scale and is used by seismologists to compare the energy released by earthquakes. ... An earthquake is the result from the sudden release of stored energy in the Earths crust that creates seismic waves. ... km redirects here. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun province. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ...

Effects

The tsunami resulted in at least 2,183 people being killed, thousands being injured, about 9,500 homeless and about 500 missing.^[1] The maximum height of the waves were estimated at being 15 m (49 ft) high with an average height of 10.5 m (34 ft).^[1][2] The metre (American English:meter) is a measure of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The metre (American English:meter) is a measure of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...

The area worst hit was a 30 km (19 mi) coastal strip running north-west from Aitape to the viallge of Sissano. Several villages in the path of the tsunami were completely destroyed and others extensively damaged. The village of Arop was situated on a narrow spit between the coast and Sissano lagoon. It was directly in the path of the tsunami and was worst hit. km redirects here. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ...

Seismology

Computer modelling of the earthquake and resulted tsunami

The earthquake occurred at 6:49pm local time (UTC+10) along the boundary of the Australia and the Pacific tetonic plates at 2.96° S 141.92° E. The result from the event was originally thought to have created a two-metre vertical drop in the Pacific Plate along a 40 km (25 mi) long crack.^[3] This was later revised to the tsunami actually being attributed to a massive underwater landslide.^[4] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... UTC+10 time zone Australia (AEST—Australian Eastern Standard Time) Australian Capital Territory**, New South Wales** (except Broken Hill, which observes South Australia time), Queensland, Tasmania** (which observes DST starting on the first weekend of October instead of the last), Victoria** Guam (Chamorro Standard Time via US Law) Federated States...  The Pacific plate, shown in pale yellow The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. ... km redirects here. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ...

The cause of the tsunami from the landslide has changed perceptions from scientist about how large an earthquake is needed to generate a tsunami and locations around the world that could be now at risk.^[4]

Aid response

Immediately after the tsunami the Royal Australian Air Force flew in three C-130 Hercules transport planes with relief supplies.^[5] In the days following more relief was flown in and a field hospital was set up in the neighbouring town of Vanimo.^[5] Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. ... Vanimo town from the air Vanimo is the capital of Sandaun province in Papua New Guinea. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further references

• "Albright brings news of more aid to wave-hit Papua New Guinea", CNN News, 1998-07-29. Retrieved on 2007-04-18. 
• Preliminary Analysis of Sedimentary Deposits from the 1998 Papua New Guinea (PNG) Tsunami. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
• Descriptive Model of the July 17, 1998 Papua New Guinea Tsunami. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
• International Tsunami Survey Team (September 1998). Preliminary Report On The Tsunami Caused By Sissano Earthquake At, West Sepik, PNG On 17 July 1998.
• The Aitape 1998 tsunami: Reconstructing the event from interviews and field mapping.

Coordinates: 2.96° S 141.92° E Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...