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Team Members:Costas Synolakis Hideo Matsutomi Utku Kanoglu Shun-Ichi Koshimura Andrew Moore Christophe Ruscher Tomoyuki Takahashi |
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Subject: Vanuatu survey... Gentlemen, ITST arrived in Pentecost at around 3:00pm, met by brother of SOPAC contact of local contact at airport. Boarded 4x4, travelled on thetruck-bed to Walli, took 45 min to go 5km, crossed rivers half full.Accomodations at farm hat, sleeping on sissal mats. No water, or power.Good we had mosqito nets for everybody. Critters out of science fiction movies everywhere. People great. Surveyed around Walli, substantial runup, increasing towards Bay Mairtele. Talked with highschool teacher and students. Most had seen a video of PNG tsunami and of survey and knew to run away when they saw leading depression wave. Evening quiet, watched local ritual. Thursday morning off with 20ft/25hp outboard boat to Bay Mairtele. Heavy seas, we arrived wet. Damage incredible, reminiscent of Babi, Flores, and Rajekwesi. East Java. About 1km wide bay. Site like Pancer, river running to the back of the village,tsunami attacked both from the river and the sea. Locals felt first one weak shock, 2min later a strong shock, then surface withdrew and wave attacked. First wave small, one person even had time to go back to the village and pick up his mother. 5 minutes later, they saw two mountains of water coming from the sea. They were very particular that there were two mountains and not a uniform front. Wave penetrated very far inland, only one building surviving, a church. No watermarks inside the church, very unusual. Unusally low runup given inundation measuring only about 5m, but will return today for more work. I conjecture that the oveland flow depth is at least 4m. 5 people died only, primarily as they kept saying, because of the PNG movie and the advice about watching out for withdrawls or LDNs. Hideo's team arrived at Bay Mairtele by chopper around 3:00pm. Had measured over 1 m runup on north side of Efate, more than 170km from Pentecost. Had been expected at Bay Mairtele at 9:00am. First chopper rental fell through radio did not work, team delayed in Villa trying to get other chopper. Also it had been raining since the morning, heavy at times, we were drenched, but justly, so was the chopper team. Chopper had to fly back and wait in Ambrym, no visibility. Boat wanted to return, seas picking up. Weather worsening. Chopper out of fuel, had to split team again, 1/2 sleeping in Santos, 1/2 in Walli. Will meet with Walli team today, will try to survey west of Pentecost and Ambrym. Entire team will stay in Walli again tonight. Will try to communicate again on Sunday from Villa. Costas |
