Two tsunamis were generated by a Mw 7.6 earthquake (13.052°S, 166.187°E ), at 22:03:15 UTC, 295 km (180 miles) NNW of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu (according to the USGS) and a Mw 7.8 earthquake in the Santa Cruz Islands (12.554°S, 166.320°E), at 22:18:26 UTC, 340 km (210 miles) NNW of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu (according to the USGS).

In a little over an hour, the tsunami waves were recorded at the Australian owned and operated DART® station 55012 in the Coral Sea , which was built by SAIC. An inversion based on the DART® record clearly indicates that the first two distinct waves were generated by two consecutive earthquakes 15 minutes apart. The inversion results also characterized a stronger tsunami source for the second Santa Cruz earthquake than the first Vanuatu earthquake.

Graphics and animations :

The graphics to the left display forecast results, showing qualitative and quantitative information about the tsunami, including tsunami wave interaction with ocean floor bathymetric features, and neighboring coastlines.

• Tsunami model Maximum Wave Amplitude information is shown color-coded on top of blue-shaded sea floor bathymetry. Triangles indicate DART® buoy locations. Another graphic is zoomed closer to the epicenter.
• The Tsunami Propagation Animation (13.7 MB) shows propagation dynamics of the research forecast model computed with the MOST. created with the MOST forecast model.
• Model and DART® buoy data data comparison composite plots with explanatory annotations.
  • Coral Sea DART #55012
  • Apia DART #51425