Vanuatu earthquake and tsunami cause much damage, few casualties

Vanuatu is a volcanic archipelago located some 2000 km northeast of Australia, in the heart of Melanesia. Though the islands are mainly agricultural, they are also a tourist destination for Australians and New Zealanders, many of whom come to see the active volcanoes on Ambrym and Tanna and the annual practice of “land diving” on Pentecost. An earthquake estimated between moment magnitude 7.1 and 7.5 occurred off the east coast of Vanuatu on November 26, 1999, at 13:21 UTC. The earthquake generated a damaging tsunami that struck the coast of Vanuatu, where it reached as high as 6.6 m above sea level and destroyed an entire village (Figures 1 and 2).