Eyewitness Accounts of the Impact of the 1998 Aitape Tsunami, and of Other Tsunamis in Living Memory, in the Region from Jayapura, Indonesia, to Vanimo, Papua New Guinea

Field investigations in 1999 confirmed that the tsunami that struck the Aitape coast of Papua New Guinea on 17 July, 1998 caused damage at points as far as 230 km to the west-northwest, particularly at locations where the coast is indented. Eyewitnesses saw the sea withdraw (in most cases), then surge to levels around 2 m higher than normal in a series of three waves. In some cases the time of arrival of the waves is known approximately by reference to the onset of darkness and to felt earthquakes. Seiche waves followed in some bays, notably in Yos Sudarso Bay, Indonesia, where waves persisted for 3–5 days. Damage was caused by the backwash from the waves. Bodies presumed to be those of Aitape victims were seen floating at sea off Jayapura five days after the tsunami. We record the recollections of people in the Yos Sudarso Bay area who experienced a number of tsunamis in the past 60 years; people that we interviewed on the Papua New Guinea side of the border recollected few or none.