East Java Earthquake and Tsunami of June 3, 1994.
Java is situated in a tectonic subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian Plate is moving northward, sliding under the Eurasian Plate at a rate of 67 mm/yr. Occasionally, however, the tectonic plate suddenly slips a much greater distance, resulting in an earthquake. In 1994, a major earthquake, registering 7.2 on the Richter Scale, occurred in the Java Trench, 205 km SW of G-Land. The quake triggered a tsunami, which swept through the surf camp about 40 minutes later [1]. The runup at G-Land was estimated to have been as high as 5.6 meters. No lives were lost at G-Land. However, 223 people perished further west, where the villages of Rajekwesi, Pancer and Lampon were almost completely levelled by the tsunami [2].
Surfer John Philbin was at G-Land on the night of the tsunami. He described hearing the surf and thinking it must be big. "But when the roar grew louder, I sat up inside my mosquito net, and just as I did, a churning wall of water blew through my hut." Richie Lovett described the experience as "being hit by a train at full speed". Richard Marsh initially thought a tiger was attacking them, but then realized it was a wave. Marsh and Lovett were swept hundreds of feet into the jungle by the wave. "I was completely panicking. It was a matter of surviving, just grabbing onto things to stay above the water, trying to keep all the debris away from my head and, above all, to get a breath." Marsh said. Lovett had to be returned to Australia for medical attention. "The hut had disappeared and I was entwined in logs and trees and bits of bamboo. When the water started to subside. I was stuck with my legs pinned under a whole lot of logs and rubbish."
The other surfers visiting G-Land when the tsunami struck were Monty Webber, Gerald Saunders, Rob Bain, Shanne Herring, Simon Law and Neal Purchase.
Facts and figures documented by the Tsunami Survey Team.
References
- Tsuji et al. "Field Survey of the East Java Earthquake and Tsunami of June 3, 1994." Pure and Applied Geophysics. 144.3/4 (1995)
- Maramai1, A. et al. "The 3 June 1994 Java Tsunami: A Post-Event Survey of the Coastal Effects" Natural Hazards. Volume 15, Number 1, pp 31-49 (January 1997)
