A STOURBRIDGE woman living in Vanuatu in the South Pacific has told the News she is bracing herself for the impact of tsunami waves sparked after a massive earthquake struck the coast of Japan.

Former King Edward VI College student Suzanne Bule, aged 26, works at the Hideaway Island Resort on a small island in the Republic of Vanuatu and has been evacuating guests to a hotel on the mainland as they wait for news.

This was her message to the News as the waves approached: “My house is very near to the sea on the main island however we think we should be high enough up and so we're staying put, monitoring the warnings ready to arrange for the guests to return once the threat has passed.

“We have a lot of earthquakes here and so are getting used to tsunami warnings, however they are always scary, especially when the earthquake epicentre is nearby as there is not always high ground easily accessible.

“Hopefully because this earthquake is so far away, by the time the tsunami reaches us it won't be big enough to do any damage.

“Still, we've had four cyclone warnings in the last two months that we've had to evacuate as a result of and so we're now getting a bit jumpy.

“Its also nightime here and the wave is supposed to arrive at 1am, so that makes it more difficult.

“The authorities are on the television and radio constantly at the moment trying to persuade people to take the warning seriously as we haven't had a big tsunami hit here, and so people start thinking all the warnings are false alarms.

“Some villages are moving to high ground, although there's always those that go to the beach to watch.

“Fingers crossed, all will be okay and the warnings will be lifted in a few hours, then we can get some sleep.”

If you are from Stourbridge and caught up in the disaster contact us with your stories - email newsgrouped@midlands.newsquest.co.uk