Acehtsunami

Although relatively uncommon, violent volcanic eruptions represent also impulsive disturbances, which can displace a great volume of water and generate extremely destructive tsunami waves in the immediate source area. Volcanic disturbances can produce waves by the sudden displacement of water caused by a volcanic explosion, by a volcano’s slope failure, or more likely by a phreatomagmatic explosion and collapse and/or engulfment of the volcanic magmatic chambers.

The common tsunamis that occur in the Pacific Ocean happen around the “Ring of Fire” Area surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. The periphery has also been dubbed the ‘Ring of Fire’ because of the extraordinarily large number of active volcanoes and seismic activity located in the region. Since 1819, over 40 tsunamis have struck the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the largest and most destructive tsunamis ever traced was generated in August 26, 1883 after the explosion and collapse of the volcano of Krakatoa (Krakatau), in Indonesia. This explosion generated waves that reached 135 feet, destroyed coastal towns and villages along the Sunda Strait in both the islands of Java and Sumatra, killing 36, 417 people.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. There were no records of injuries. The quake was centered 105 miles southeast of the capital of Quito at 6:54 a.m. local time today, at a depth of 118 miles.

The depth of the epicenter explicates why no injuries or damage or injuries were reported, said Liliana Troncozo, a geophysicist at the Ecuador Army’s National Poly technical School, in an interview.

“This was a very deep earthquake,” exclaimed Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, in a telephone interview. “That will moderate the damage somewhat, but this is a pretty strong earthquake. We have reports of it being felt throughout Ecuador.” The quake is distinctly to generate a tsunami, since its epicenter was not under the ocean, Caruso added.

Vanuatu was rattled by a major earthquake Tuesday afternoon sparking a tsunami warning in the region. The warning was down-ranged after a small wave reached Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila measuring only 23 centimeters high.

The United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program said that the earthquake as a magnitude 7.3 quake, striking at 04:23:46 PM (Vanuatu time) at epicenter, with a depth of 35 km (21.7 miles), and 35 km (20 miles) West Nor West of Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Fears that a tsunami may pursue the quake caused locals to head for high ground. The tsunami threat has been reduced, although warning is advised as aftershocks measuring around 5 magnitudes are currently occurring in the region. At the time of writing there were no reports of injuries, however light damage was reported about Port Vila’s central business district.

A magnitude 7 earthquake shook Papua New Guinea on Thursday, U.S. Geological Survey reported. There were no immediate reports of fatalities or damage and no threat of a significant tsunami in the South Pacific’s most populous island nation. The agency said in a statement that the quake struck near the island region of New Britain 352 miles (566 kilometers) northeast of the national capital Port Moresby.

Nellie Setepano, a reporter, reported there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. David Walsh, an oceanographer at, said there was no risk of a major tsunami, possibly because the quake was 34 miles (54 kilometers) below the Earth’s crust.

Papua New Guinea lies on the “Ring of Fire” — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that extends around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world’s quakes take place.

A “solar tsunami” sent energy rolling toward earth from the surface of the sun on Sunday. As the wave of energy sluices over the Earth, the Pacific Northwest is primed for a rare chance Tuesday night to see auroras, commonly known as the Northern Lights.

A key measure of solar activity shows a pierce sufficient for auroras to be visible in the Pacific Northwest. The “coronal mass ejections” from the sun are striking the Earth’s atmosphere and hitting the right kind of tune for the Northern Lights to dance.

“It could be visible almost all the way down to California at this state,” said Jim Todd, the planetarium manager at OMSI in Portland. “Anytime we get a red bar like that, it’s definitely worth trying.”

Added to city lights, the sky could disturb viewing. Todd suggests a digital camera on a tripod to take 3 to 5 second disclosures towards the northern horizon. If the picture confirms some shades of green to red curtain-like images, chances are the auroras are active.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6 has struck the South Pacific off the coasts of Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa. Yet there have been no reports of damage and no tsunami was triggered.

The quake struck Sunday afternoon and was focused at sea 147 miles (237 kilometers) southwest of Apia in Samoa and 252 miles (405 kilometers) north of Neiafu in Tonga. It was at a depth of about 25 miles (41 kilometers). Residents of Apia and Neiafu told The Associated Press that they didn’t find it.

A magnitude 8 earthquake close to Samoa on Sept. 29 destroyed 34 people in American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga, when tsunami waves up to 46 feet (14 meters) high crashed ashore.