Pacific / Marshall Islands

Supermoon tides spare Marshall Islands

07:51 am on 7 December 2017

The Marshall Islands has been spared damage from high tides and the effects of the recent supermoon but locals are on alert for next month.

Correspondent Giff Johnson said there has been some debris thrown up from the sea onto roads in the low lying atolls this week but no more than usual.

He said people are likely to be more concerned and on alert next month as king tides traditionally peak and are more common in January and February.

Mr Johnson said the Marshall Islands are relatively unaffected for now.

"We haven't seen too much inundation the past couple of days from this month's high tide and full moon, just a little bit here and there, some rocks and coral tossed up on roads but very minimal," he said.

Giff Johnson said the University of Hawaii and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration now provides daily data making it easier for the public to keep up to date with tidal threats.

High tides in Marshall Islands in March 2016 hit a seawall. Photo: RNZI/Giff Johnson