13.06.2016: In March 1895 German and English language colonial newspapers report on a tsunami that hit the Trobriand Islands as a result of an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 to 8. The Trobriand Islands belong to Papua New Guinea in the pacific Solomon Sea. It was said that the tsunami killed at least 30 people. But how realistic are these information?
Since the implementation of modern seismometers in the 1960s earthquakes were only rarely detected in the Trobriand Trench. No strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7 to 8, let alone one that caused a tsunami was identified. For that reason it remained unclear for a long time if the reports from 1895 were truly indicating a tsunami event.

The Trobriand Islands, also known as Kiriwina Islands, are located at the corner of the plate collision zone between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates, with several plate fragments wedged in between. Due to its complicated tectonic no consensus of a tectonic model of this region exists.

A reconstruction of the earthquake from 1895 may now help to better understand the tectonics of the region. Based on a literature research, published in Science of Tsunami Hazards, three scientists try to track the earthquake event. Newspaper archives reveal eyewitness reports on the earthquake and the tsunami event from several locations that give indications on the epicenter of the earthquake. These reports are supplemented by surveys done by contemporary scientists. In fact there is growing evidence that a tsunami followed a whole series of earthquakes with magnitudes of up to 7 to 8. The epicenter is given by the scientists with 8.4°South and 151°East in the area of the Trobriand Trench. (ak)

Contact: Horst Letz

Letz, H., McCue, K., Ripper, I., 2016. The Trobriand Islands Earthquake and Tsunami, 6 March 1895. Science of Tsunami Hazards, 35 (2), p 49.