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-->The east coast of the PNG mainland and the west coast of New Ireland province reported severe flooding from storm surges thought to have been caused by unusually high king tides.
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-->Parts of Majuro Atoll were flooded Tuesday when high waves combined with a high tide to cause damage to some homes, washing tons of garbage, rocks and other debris onto the low-lying island. The eastern coast of Majuro appeared to be hardest hit, with waves slamming seawalls and flooding onto the roads and into houses. There were no reported injuries, and damage appeared limited. Cleaning up the mess washed in by the waves brought out Ministry of Public Works and Majuro Atoll Waste Company crews with their heavy equipment. Surprisingly, the high tide at 1:30 pm Tuesday was only slightly over four feet (1.2 meters) — nearly two feet less than when the highest tides traditionally hit in January and February. But the high tide coincided with high waves generated from a low-pressure weather system in the Wake Island area, about 500 miles (800 Km) north of Majuro. Weather forecasters believe the flooding Tuesday could be a one-off event, despite significantly higher tides later in the week. “The wave train peaked today coinciding with the high tide,” said Majuro Weather Station chief Reginald White Tuesday afternoon. The low-pressure system that is moving west caused the nine-to-ten foot waves to roll in. “It shows that we’re extremely vulnerable” to small changes in the environment, Office of Environmental Planning and Policy Coordination (OEPPC) deputy director Deborah Manase said Tuesday. “We’re lucky. If the tide had been two feet higher, it would have been much worse.”)