Sissano Lagoon

Aerial photo of Sissano Lagoon mouth, looking west.

The mouth of the Sissano Lagoon and the village of Sissano were the hardest hit areas during the PNG tsunami. Evidence of flow depths of 10 meters were found on both sides of the lagoon mouth. Also, near the village of Sissano, flow depths of over 5 meters were found at a distance of 400 meters inland. In this area it was difficult to measure an exact runup value beacuse it was clear that the wave flowed completely over the sand spit separating the ocean from the lagoon. A boat ride through the lagoon and helicopter overflys showed large amounts of debris pushed to the back of the lagoon, 1- 2 km from the beach. Click below for more photos from this region.