Tsunami research in Samoa

UNSW scientists will assess the impact of the regional tsunami that struck Samoa, American Samoa and surrounding islands when they arrive next week in the remote South Pacific island group.

Tsunami expert Professor James Goff from UNSW's Natural Hazards Research Laboratory will reach Wallis and Futuna Islands west of Samoa on October 7 for a long-planned field trip.

His UNSW colleague Associate Professor Dale Dominey-Howes will lead an international research team in American Samoa and Samoa to assess the scale and impacts of three-metre waves that surged across the island group following this week's earthquake.

Professor Goff's latest research reveals that tsunami-survivor stories and oral histories can powerfully communicate educational messages that could aid disaster preparedness.

Researchers from UNSW and the University of Hawaii have been pioneering the use of video interviews to convey the emotive power of survivor stories and to integrate them with information from field surveys, and seismic and geomorphological data.

Read the full story on the Faculty of Science website.

Media contact: Dan Gaffney UNSW Media | 0411 156 015 | d.gaffney@unsw.edu.au