Japanese Tsunami due to arrive in West Papua.

11th March 2011

Richard Parks is currently trekking through the jungle in to base camp tackling Carstensz Pyramid in West Papua, the highest mountain in Oceania and the fifth leg of his world first 737 Challenge.

West Papua is now keeping a watchful eye on the development of a tsunami after the Earthquake in Japan. According to a live report on BBC news from Jakarta a short time ago the tsunami is expected to reach Papua in the next hour and they are expecting it to be around 1 or 2 metres. Government authorities are advising people to leave coastal areas where possible.

Richard is currently climbing above 3400m and therefore is not in any danger, however, if the region’s infrastructure is badly affected this might affect Richard’s schedule when he flies out of West Papua.

Carstensz Pyramid is a mountain in the Sudirman Range, the western central highlands of Papua province, within Puncak Jaya Regency.

West Papua is a province of Indonesia covering the western peninsula of the island of New Guinea. It is the least-populous province of Indonesia and one of two situated in Indonesian New Guinea, with the province of Papua also lying to the east. The region has suffered many earthquakes.

Only last year Kaimana, a regency of West Papua suffered an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale. The quake shook before dawn on 30 September 2010. Residents fled into the hills as the Indonesian meteorology agency issued a tsunami warning, recalling it after 90 minutes. In June 2010 a 6.2-magnitude quake struck 120km southeast of Biak Island, West Papua.

In January 2009, two quakes hit Indonesia's West Papua province, one of which registered 7.6 on the Richter scale causing death and injuries but without doubt, one of the most devastating times for the region was when a huge tsunami hit Indonesia on December 26, 2004, which killed over 240,000 people.