Ancestral heritage saves tribes during 1 April 2007 Solomon Islands tsunami

Abstract

The 1 April 2007 magnitude M s 8.1 earthquake off the New Georgia Group in the Solomon Islands generated a tsunami that killed 52 with locally focused run‐up heights of 12 m, local flow depths of 5 m as well as tectonic uplift up to 3.6 m and subsidence down to −1.5 m. A reconnaissance team deployed within one week investigated 65 coastal settlements on 13 remote Islands. The ancestral heritage “run to high ground after an earthquake” passed on to younger generations by survivors of smaller historic tsunamis triggered an immediate spontaneous self evacuation containing the death toll.