A survivor from Arop village told us that the younger people laughed at the elders' warnings. The 15-25 minutes between the earthquake and the first wave was sufficient time for many to have reached safety. Loud sounds from the sea can be a warning. Survivors described the tsunami as sounding like a bomb or a jet plane offshore, and walked down to the beach to see where the sound was coming from. A roaring sound as an indicator of an approaching tsunami should be emphasized in tsunami education materials.
Spits are dangerous places in tsunami-prone areas.
The spit averages about 100 m in width and is no higher than a few meters above sea level. Even if the people in these villages had taken immediate action after the earthquake, they were too far from higher ground or inland sanctuaries to take refuge. Although a 24-hour emergency contact point had been established by NDES, it was not operational at the time of the tsunami. Inadequate assessment slows response. Aitape had damage and injuries from the tsunami, but no one there considered that other areas may have been hit harder.