APCEDI Alert SP/FJ 23P Cliff #1-2007: Cyclone Cliff forms in Northern Fiji, brings tropical storm conditions to Lau Group.

The RSMC-Nadi Tropical Cyclone Centre, the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre have begun issuing guidance on Cyclone Cliff that formed Wednesday in Northern Fiji and is now moving through Fiji's Lau Group.

Cyclone Cliff formed to the southeast of Vanua Levu and Taveuni Islands on Wednesday afternoon from a tropical depression that had been passing across Vanua Levu earlier in the day. The centre of Cyclone Cliff is now located roughly 30 km southeast of Lakemba Island. Cliff will is moving south-southeast at 18 km/hr as it passes through the Lau Group overnight and into today and to the west of the Nuka'alofa, Tonga tonight and into tomorrow.

Cyclone Cliff is currently at strong Tropical Storm strength on the Saffir Simpson Scale. It is forecast to slightly increase to a possible Category 1 strength west of Tonga and then peak for about 24 hours before gradually weakening.

This is a small, weak cyclone moving very rapidly, so damage is likely to be minor and limited. Very localised areas of moderate damage could still occur close to the centre of the storm. However, all concerns in Fiji's Lau Group and Southern Tonga should monitor the situation closely and follow any Government advice.

ALERTS AND WARNINGS

FIJI
A TROPICAL CYCLONE GALE WARNING IS IN FORCE FOR MAGO, CICIA, NAYAU,
LAKEBA, VANUA VATU, ONEATA, MOCE, KOMO, NAMUKA, KABARA, OGEA, FULAGA,VATOA AND NEARBY SMALLER ISLANDS.

A TROPICAL CYCLONE ALERT IS IN FORCE FOR THE REST OF THE SOUTHERN LAU GROUP.

TONGA
A STRONG WIND WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PARTS OF THE GROUP.

From the RSMC-Nadi Tropical Cyclone Centre

Special Weather Bulletin Number SIX for Fiji ON TROPICAL CYCLONE
CLIFF ISSUED FROM RSMC NADI at 4:07am on Thursday the 5th of April 2007

TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING

A TROPICAL CYCLONE GALE WARNING IS IN FORCE FOR MAGO, CICIA, NAYAU,LAKEBA, VANUA VATU, ONEATA, MOCE, KOMO, NAMUKA, KABARA, OGEA, FULAGA,VATOA AND NEARBY SMALLER ISLANDS.
A TROPICAL CYCLONE ALERT IS IN FORCE FOR THE REST OF THE SOUTHERN LAUGROUP.

TROPICAL CYCLONE CLIFF CENTRE [990HPA] WAS LOCATED NEAR 18 DECIMAL 4 SOUTH 178 DECIMAL 6 WEST OR ABOUT 30 KILOMETRES SOUTHEAST OF LAKEBA OR ABOUT 70 KILOMETRES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF KABARA AT 4 A.M. TODAY.

CLOSE TO ITS CENTRE THE CYCLONE IS EXPECTED TO HAVE AVERAGE WINDS UP TO 75 TO 85 KM/HR WITH MOMENTARY GUSTS OF 100 TO 120 KM/HR.

THE CYCLONE IS MOVING TOWARDS THE SOUTH-SOUTHEAST AT 18 KM/HR. ON THIS TRACK THE CYCLONE CENTRE IS EXPECTED TO LIE 50 KILOMETRES EAST OF KABARA OR ABOUT 85 KILOMETRES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF LAKEBA AT 9AM TODAY AND ABOUT 95 KILOMETRES SOUTHEAST OF KABARA OR ABOUT 130 KILOMETRES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF ONO-I-LAU AT 3PM TODAY.

DESTRUCTIVE WINDS ARE LIKELY TO BEGIN SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE THE CYCLONE CENTRE PASSES OVERHEAD OR NEARBY.

FOR MAGO, CICIA, NAYAU, LAKEBA, VANUA VATU, ONEATA, MOCE, KOMO, NAMUKA, KABARA, OGEA, FULAGA, VATOA AND NEARBY SMALLER ISLANDS.: EXPECT DAMAGING GALE FORCE WINDS WITH AVERAGE WINDS OF 75 TO 85 KM/HR WITH MOMENTARY GUSTS TO 100 TO 120 KM/HR.

FLOODING, INCLUDING RAPID SEA FLOODING OF LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS AFFECTED BY GALE FORCE WINDS EXPECTED, ESPECIALLY AROUND TIME OF HIGH TIDE. WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN WITH SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS.

FOR THE REST OF THE SOUTHERN LAU GROUP : EXPECT WINDS INCREASING TO 65 TO 75 KM/HR WITH MOMENTARY GUSTS TO 100 KM/HR IN THE NEXT 12 HOURS TO 24 HOURS. HEAVY RAIN WITH SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS. FLOODING INCLUDING SEA FLOODING OF LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS EXPECTED.

FOR THE REST OF THE FIJI GROUP FRESH AND GUSTY SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS. FINE APART FROM AFTERNOON OR EVENING SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE LARGER ISLANDS. MODERATE TO ROUGH SEAS.

The following information is provided especially for the mariners:
EXPECT GALE FORCE WINDS WITHIN 60 MILES OF CYCLONE CENTRE WITH HIGH SEAS.SEAS ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH OVER THE SOUTH OF THE SOUTHERN LAU, LOMAIVITI AND KADAVU WATERS. ELSEWHERE MODERATE TO ROUGH SEAS. MODERATE TO HEAVY SWELLS.

THE NEXT SPECIAL WEATHER BULLETIN FOR FIJI WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 7.00AM TODAY.

___________________________________________________________
APCEDI will continue to monitor the progress of this system

Kevin Vang
APCEDI Coordinator
http://www.afap.org/apcedi/

To donate to AFAP's Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation Programs in Asia and the Pacific, go to http://www.afap.org and click on the "Donate On-Line" icon in the top right-hand corner.

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Major Earthquake and Tsunami in Northern Solomon Islands, Report #2

More specific information is coming out of the Western and Choiseul Provinces of Solomon Islands. Radio New Zealand International has a good overview report out this morning.

Degree of destruction from Solomon’s tsunami becoming more apparent

Posted at 08:13 on 03 April, 2007 UTC

The confirmed death toll following the earthquake in Solomon Islands has now risen to 24.

The National Disaster Council says 12 people are confirmed dead on Simbo and eight in Gizo.

Another two people died in Mondo on Ranongga and two died on Choiseul island.

A spokesman for the council, Julian Makaa, says the most recent reports indicate that more than 900 homes have been destroyed and nearly 5,500 people have been affected by the earthquake and associated tsunami.

The Solomon’s Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, describes some of the damage in Choiseul and Gizo:

“The entire school in south Choiseul is totally wiped out. At that school there is an enrolment of 300 students. They are basically without the infrastructure to continue with their school. A number of villages and one of the biggest villages in South Choiseul, Sasamunga, has 20 houses destroyed. The entire Fishing Village in Gizo is wiped out completely.”

In Gizo, the western province premier, Alex Lokopio, says there will be a great deal of hardship ahead and much of the town will need to be rebuilt:

“Even the Chinese and other business people who set up their good business here in Gizo - most of their business have been destroyed. I mean their houses, and the goods in their stores - all have gone, washed away by the tsunami.”

Julian Makaa of the National Disaster Council says there could also problems with medicine:

“A good number clinics washed away with all medical supplies so the health department is also compiling informaton.”

A disaster official in Papua New Guinea’s Milne Bay says a family of five, which was swept out to sea when the Solomon Islands tsunami struck the province’s Rossel Island, has since been located.

Eric Balaria also says the tsunami caused just minor damage on the outer Milne Bay islands of Rossel and Woodlark.

He says the waves pounded the area for about 90 minutes on Monday morning.

“There was a series of tsunamis which caused slight damage to the area especially the houses built along the beach, they were damaged, a couple of houses, and including dinghies and canoes that have been washed away by the surge of water, but there have been no casualties so far.”

Mr Balaria says on the Budi Budi atolls the waves washed some distance inland but no damaged was done.

Meanwhile, the administrator on Bougainville, Peter Tsiamalili, says there were no injuries or damage to property on Bougainville island or any of the province’s low lying atolls.

Assessment and relief efforts are continuing today. Although numbers are likely to increase on those in this report, it is unlikely at this point that it would be a dramatic increase.

APCEDI will continue to monitor this situation and report as needed.
________________________________

Kevin Vang
APCEDI Coordinator

For the full interactive APCEDI Alerts go to: http://www.afap.org/apcedi/

To donate to AFAP's Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation Programs in Asia and the Pacific, go to http://www.afap.org and click on the "Donate On-Line" icon in the top right-hand corner.

To sign up for AFAP's free APCEDI email service, please go to http://www.afap.org/apcedi/ and register your email address.

Major Earthquake and Tsunami hits Northern Solomon Islands

Monday morning at 07:39:56 Solomon Islands local time (2007 April 1 20:39:56 UTC), a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck off the west coast of the New Georgia Group. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a series of Regional Tsunami Warning and related advisories.

The following is a list of the main earthquake and aftershocks that have hit the area from the USGS.

MAP 5.0 2007/04/02 15:40:05 -7.397 155.559 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.1 2007/04/02 14:20:49 -8.656 157.692 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.7 2007/04/02 13:53:07 -8.657 157.627 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.4 2007/04/02 13:49:54 -7.811 156.518 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.5 2007/04/02 12:35:26 -8.740 157.679 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 6.2 2007/04/02 12:02:23 -8.539 157.548 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 6.0 2007/04/02 10:49:15 -7.197 156.192 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 2007/04/02 07:16:33 -7.465 156.145 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 2007/04/02 05:33:36 -7.309 155.323 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.1 2007/04/02 05:30:46 -7.176 155.663 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 2007/04/02 04:11:40 -7.176 156.067 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.8 2007/04/02 04:03:21 -6.868 155.160 10.0 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 5.3 2007/04/02 01:36:16 -7.202 155.474 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 2007/04/02 01:31:03 -8.196 157.108 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.9 2007/04/02 00:49:48 -6.858 155.457 10.0 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 5.0 2007/04/02 00:10:56 -7.077 155.888 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 2007/04/01 23:25:28 -7.346 156.143 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.1 2007/04/01 23:09:39 -7.324 155.772 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.8 2007/04/01 22:57:23 -7.321 155.995 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 2007/04/01 22:45:33 -7.688 155.766 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 2007/04/01 22:41:05 -6.964 155.214 10.0 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 5.3 2007/04/01 22:29:55 -7.250 155.323 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.7 2007/04/01 21:45:38 -7.432 155.581 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.5 2007/04/01 21:43:16 -7.705 155.608 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 2007/04/01 21:26:27 -7.317 155.401 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 6.4 2007/04/01 21:11:34 -7.441 155.774 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 6.7 2007/04/01 20:47:32 -7.133 155.661 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 8.0 2007/04/01 20:39:56 -8.453 156.957 10.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS

News reports are still sketchy and rapid assessments are being carried out, but here is what is known so far.

Several places in the New Georgia Group sustained damage from a large tsunami following the main quake. This included the local provincial capital Gizo where the tsunami flooded the hospital, local market and surrounding residences and businesses near the coast and in adjacent low lying areas. A church and school in this area of Gizo have also been reportedly flooded. As Gizo was about 50 kms north of the epicentre, residents in low-lying areas would have had little time to escape especially given the level and magnitude of the tsunami. The death toll from the tsunami in and around Gizo has been initially put at between 10-20 with more people reported missing.

Damage reports are also coming in from coastal villages on Rannonga, Vella Lavella, Kolombangara, Rendova and the main New Georgia Island and its various outliers. This is mainly along west, southwest, southeast and south facing coasts. The extent of death, injury and damage is not well known in these more remote areas.

Given the location of the epicentre and the direction, size and extent of the tsunami, and the layout of the New Georgia Group, the tsunami was seemingly channeled strongly between Vella Lavella and Kolombangara Islands causing substantial damage to villages along the southwestern coast of Choiseul Island where damage and some deaths are being reported between Sasamungga and Posarae.

This is one of the most tectonically active regions on Earth, and Solomon Islanders particularly on western and southern facing coasts have long known to run uphill immediately after severe quakes. Solomon Islanders also tend to have a higher percentage of strong swimmers than many populations affected by the boxing day tsunami 2004. This may likely have saved many lives although the height of the tsunami and the proximity of the earthquake's epicentre to the coast would have severely limited the time and ability that people had to escape, as many in low-lying areas of Western Province do not have high hills close to their residences.

Given the number of powerful aftershocks, most residents should heed Government warnings and are well advised to remain on high ground throughout the region for the next few days, and when entering low-lying areas have a clear plan of retreat to higher ground the instant any major shaking is felt.

The level and extent of this tsunami should be well taken into account when planning the rebuilding of village areas particularly with respect to hospitals, schools, churches and other key public buildings.

Outside of the Solomons, particularly in the Bougainville and Eastern Milne Bay areas of PNG, the tsunami also hit but with much less force, causing initial reports of only minor damage to some localised coastal areas.

APCEDI will continue to monitor this situation as more details become clear.
________________________________

Kevin Vang
APCEDI Coordinator

For the full interactive APCEDI Alerts go to: http://www.afap.org/apcedi/

To donate to AFAP's Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation Programs in Asia and the Pacific, go to http://www.afap.org and click on the "Donate On-Line" icon in the top right-hand corner.

To sign up for AFAP's free APCEDI email service, please go to http://www.afap.org/apcedi/ and register your email address.