Pacific Tsunami warning after Japan’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake

by www.Sail-World.com on 11 Mar 2011 The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii has issued a Tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean. The Tsunami wave could be higher than some low lying Pacific Islands.

The warning follows a massive earthquake that has struck 125km off the north-eastern coast of Japan at a depth of 10km. At its epicentre this quake was 1000 times stronger than the recent Christchurch earthquake and is the strongest recorded earthquake in Japan.

The earthquake happened off the Japenese coast near Sendai and is the sixth largest earthquake every recorded anywhere in the world.

The offshore earthquake triggered a Tsunami with waves of seven metres that swept cars, boats, buildings and massive amounts of debris kilometres inland. The tsunami has swept through the Mayagi Prefecture and some reports state that entire towns may have been swept away.

The earthquake itself has caused a major oil refinery fire which is burning out of control.

With Tsunami Warning Sirens shrieking, Police Car Evacuations have already started in the Philippines east coast and Hawaii (the Tsunami is scheduled to strike in around three hours).

The warning also includes North American West coast, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Central and South America.

WEPA40 PHEB 110830
TSUPAC

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 004
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0830Z 11 MAR 2011

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... A WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

JAPAN / RUSSIA / MARCUS IS. / N. MARIANAS / GUAM / WAKE IS. /
TAIWAN / YAP / PHILIPPINES / MARSHALL IS. / BELAU / MIDWAY IS. /
POHNPEI / CHUUK / KOSRAE / INDONESIA / PAPUA NEW GUINEA /
NAURU / JOHNSTON IS. / SOLOMON IS. / KIRIBATI / HOWLAND-BAKER /
HAWAII / TUVALU / PALMYRA IS. / VANUATU / TOKELAU / JARVIS IS. /
WALLIS-FUTUNA / SAMOA / AMERICAN SAMOA / COOK ISLANDS / NIUE /
AUSTRALIA / FIJI / NEW CALEDONIA / TONGA / MEXICO /
KERMADEC IS / FR. POLYNESIA / NEW ZEALAND / PITCAIRN /
GUATEMALA / EL SALVADOR / COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA / ANTARCTICA /
PANAMA / HONDURAS / CHILE / ECUADOR / COLOMBIA / PERU

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 0546Z 11 MAR 2011
COORDINATES - 38.3 NORTH 142.4 EAST
DEPTH - 24 KM
LOCATION - NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 8.9

A TSUNAMI WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII.
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 0746 PM HST 10 MAR 2011
COORDINATES - 38.3 NORTH 142.4 EAST
LOCATION - NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 8.9 MOMENT
MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY
GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
TOSASHIMIZU SHIKOKU 32.8N 133.0E 0946Z 0.84M / 2.8FT 28MIN
ADAK AK 51.9N 176.6W 1034Z 0.35M / 1.2FT 22MIN
YAP FM 9.5N 138.1E 1013Z 0.15M / 0.5FT 88MIN
LEGASPI PH 13.1N 123.8E 1022Z 0.29M / 1.0FT **MIN
MIDWAY 28.2N 177.4W 1028Z 1.56M / 5.1FT 80MIN
DART 21415 50.2N 171.8E 0845Z 0.27M / 0.9FT 52MIN
WAKE US 19.3N 166.6E 0928Z 0.39M / 1.3FT 14MIN
NAHA OKINAWA JP 26.2N 127.7E 0901Z 0.25M / 0.8FT 60MIN
SAIPAN US 15.2N 145.7E 0916Z 0.65M / 2.1FT 30MIN
OMAEZAKI HONSHU JP 34.6N 138.2E 0818Z 1.42M / 4.6FT 56MIN
DART 21419 44.5N 155.7E 0716Z 0.40M / 1.3FT 20MIN
DART 21413 30.5N 152.1E 0659Z 0.76M / 2.5FT 32MIN
HANASAKI HOKKAIDO J 43.3N 145.6E 0657Z 2.79M / 9.2FT 76MIN
DART 21401 42.6N 152.6E 0643Z 0.67M / 2.2FT 40MIN
DART 21418 38.7N 148.7E 0619Z 1.08M / 3.5FT 06MIN
LAT - LATITUDE (N-NORTH, S-SOUTH)
LON - LONGITUDE (E-EAST, W-WEST)
TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT (Z IS UTC IS GREENWICH TIME)
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).
PER - PERIOD OF TIME IN MINUTES(MIN) FROM ONE WAVE TO THE NEXT.
NOTE - DART MEASUREMENTS ARE FROM THE DEEP OCEAN AND THEY
ARE GENERALLY MUCH SMALLER THAN WOULD BE COASTAL
MEASUREMENTS AT SIMILAR LOCATIONS.
EVALUATION
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ALONG
COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT ACTION
SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY.
A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF LONG OCEAN WAVES. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAVE
CREST CAN LAST 5 TO 15 MINUTES OR MORE AND EXTENSIVELY FLOOD
COASTAL AREAS. THE DANGER CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AFTER THE
INITIAL WAVE AS SUBSEQUENT WAVES ARRIVE. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS
CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST.
TSUNAMI WAVES EFFICIENTLY WRAP AROUND ISLANDS. ALL SHORES ARE AT
RISK NO MATTER WHICH DIRECTION THEY FACE. THE TROUGH OF A TSUNAMI
WAVE MAY TEMPORARILY EXPOSE THE SEAFLOOR BUT THE AREA WILL
QUICKLY FLOOD AGAIN. EXTREMELY STRONG AND UNUSUAL NEARSHORE
CURRENTS CAN ACCOMPANY A TSUNAMI. DEBRIS PICKED UP AND CARRIED
BY A TSUNAMI AMPLIFIES ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER. SIMULTANEOUS HIGH
TIDES OR HIGH SURF CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE TSUNAMI HAZARD.
THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME IN HAWAII OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS
0307 AM HST FRI 11 MAR 2011
MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.

EVALUATION

SEA LEVEL READINGS CONFIRM THAT A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED
WHICH COULD CAUSE WIDESPREAD DAMAGE. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS THREAT. THIS CENTER WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT AND
SEVERITY OF THE THREAT.

A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND CAN VARY
SIGNIFICANTLY ALONG A COAST DUE TO LOCAL EFFECTS. THE TIME FROM
ONE TSUNAMI WAVE TO THE NEXT CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO AN HOUR, AND
THE THREAT CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AS MULTIPLE WAVES ARRIVE.

FOR ALL AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO HOURS
AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT
OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME
THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL
CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE
ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS
WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION FORECAST POINT COORDINATES ARRIVAL TIME
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
JAPAN KATSUURA 35.1N 140.3E 0642Z 11 MAR
KUSHIRO 42.9N 144.3E 0648Z 11 MAR
HACHINOHE 40.5N 141.5E 0701Z 11 MAR
SHIMIZU 32.8N 133.0E 0804Z 11 MAR
OKINAWA 26.2N 127.8E 0920Z 11 MAR
RUSSIA URUP_IS 46.1N 150.5E 0721Z 11 MAR
SEVERO_KURILSK 50.8N 156.1E 0840Z 11 MAR
PETROPAVLOVSK_K 53.2N 159.6E 0842Z 11 MAR
UST_KAMCHATSK 56.1N 162.6E 0846Z 11 MAR
MEDNNY_IS 54.7N 167.4E 0909Z 11 MAR
MARCUS IS. MARCUS_IS. 24.3N 154.0E 0806Z 11 MAR
N. MARIANAS SAIPAN 15.3N 145.8E 0901Z 11 MAR
GUAM GUAM 13.4N 144.7E 0917Z 11 MAR
WAKE IS. WAKE_IS. 19.3N 166.6E 0934Z 11 MAR
TAIWAN HUALIEN 24.0N 121.7E 0940Z 11 MAR
HUALIEN 24.0N 121.6E 0940Z 11 MAR
TAITUNG 22.7N 121.2E 0944Z 11 MAR
CHILUNG 25.2N 121.8E 1012Z 11 MAR
YAP YAP_IS. 9.5N 138.1E 0952Z 11 MAR
PHILIPPINES PALANAN 17.1N 122.6E 1002Z 11 MAR
LEGASPI 13.2N 123.8E 1033Z 11 MAR
DAVAO 6.8N 125.7E 1100Z 11 MAR
MARSHALL IS. ENIWETOK 11.4N 162.3E 1021Z 11 MAR
KWAJALEIN 8.7N 167.7E 1053Z 11 MAR
MAJURO 7.1N 171.4E 1132Z 11 MAR
BELAU MALAKAL 7.3N 134.5E 1032Z 11 MAR
MIDWAY IS. MIDWAY_IS. 28.2N 182.6E 1035Z 11 MAR
POHNPEI POHNPEI_IS. 7.0N 158.2E 1036Z 11 MAR
CHUUK CHUUK_IS. 7.4N 151.8E 1041Z 11 MAR
KOSRAE KOSRAE_IS. 5.5N 163.0E 1051Z 11 MAR
INDONESIA GEME 4.6N 126.8E 1057Z 11 MAR
BEREBERE 2.5N 128.7E 1105Z 11 MAR
WARSA 0.6S 135.8E 1117Z 11 MAR
MANOKWARI 0.8S 134.2E 1125Z 11 MAR
PATANI 0.4N 128.8E 1131Z 11 MAR
JAYAPURA 2.4S 140.8E 1142Z 11 MAR
SORONG 0.8S 131.1E 1143Z 11 MAR
PAPUA NEW GUINE MANUS_IS. 2.0S 147.5E 1131Z 11 MAR
KAVIENG 2.5S 150.7E 1132Z 11 MAR
VANIMO 2.6S 141.3E 1142Z 11 MAR
WEWAK 3.5S 143.6E 1154Z 11 MAR
RABAUL 4.2S 152.3E 1202Z 11 MAR
KIETA 6.1S 155.6E 1212Z 11 MAR
AMUN 6.0S 154.7E 1219Z 11 MAR
MADANG 5.2S 145.8E 1223Z 11 MAR
LAE 6.8S 147.0E 1301Z 11 MAR
PORT_MORESBY 9.3S 146.9E 1437Z 11 MAR
NAURU NAURU 0.5S 166.9E 1157Z 11 MAR
JOHNSTON IS. JOHNSTON_IS. 16.7N 190.5E 1211Z 11 MAR
SOLOMON IS. PANGGOE 6.9S 157.2E 1228Z 11 MAR
FALAMAE 7.4S 155.6E 1230Z 11 MAR
MUNDA 8.4S 157.2E 1247Z 11 MAR
GHATERE 7.8S 159.2E 1256Z 11 MAR
AUKI 8.8S 160.6E 1317Z 11 MAR
HONIARA 9.3S 160.0E 1322Z 11 MAR
KIRAKIRA 10.4S 161.9E 1326Z 11 MAR
KIRIBATI TARAWA_IS. 1.5N 173.0E 1236Z 11 MAR
KANTON_IS. 2.8S 188.3E 1337Z 11 MAR
CHRISTMAS_IS. 2.0N 202.5E 1451Z 11 MAR
MALDEN_IS. 3.9S 205.1E 1526Z 11 MAR
FLINT_IS. 11.4S 208.2E 1621Z 11 MAR
HOWLAND-BAKER HOWLAND_IS. 0.6N 183.4E 1251Z 11 MAR
HAWAII NAWILIWILI 22.0N 200.6E 1307Z 11 MAR
HONOLULU 21.3N 202.1E 1321Z 11 MAR
KAHULUI 20.9N 203.5E 1327Z 11 MAR
HILO 19.7N 204.9E 1346Z 11 MAR
TUVALU FUNAFUTI_IS. 7.9S 178.5E 1338Z 11 MAR
PALMYRA IS. PALMYRA_IS. 6.3N 197.6E 1354Z 11 MAR
VANUATU ESPERITU_SANTO 15.1S 167.3E 1416Z 11 MAR
ANATOM_IS. 20.2S 169.9E 1511Z 11 MAR
TOKELAU NUKUNONU_IS. 9.2S 188.2E 1417Z 11 MAR
JARVIS IS. JARVIS_IS. 0.4S 199.9E 1435Z 11 MAR
WALLIS-FUTUNA WALLIS_IS. 13.3S 183.8E 1435Z 11 MAR
FUTUNA_I. 14.3S 181.8E 1448Z 11 MAR
SAMOA APIA 13.8S 188.2E 1453Z 11 MAR
AMERICAN SAMOA PAGO_PAGO 14.3S 189.3E 1500Z 11 MAR
COOK ISLANDS PUKAPUKA_IS. 10.8S 194.1E 1500Z 11 MAR
PENRYN_IS. 8.9S 202.2E 1533Z 11 MAR
RAROTONGA 21.2S 200.2E 1634Z 11 MAR
NIUE NIUE_IS. 19.0S 190.0E 1535Z 11 MAR
AUSTRALIA CAIRNS 16.7S 145.8E 1535Z 11 MAR
BRISBANE 27.2S 153.3E 1627Z 11 MAR
SYDNEY 33.9S 151.4E 1658Z 11 MAR
GLADSTONE 23.8S 151.4E 1737Z 11 MAR
MACKAY 21.1S 149.3E 1818Z 11 MAR
HOBART 43.3S 147.6E 1833Z 11 MAR
FIJI SUVA 18.1S 178.4E 1537Z 11 MAR
NEW CALEDONIA NOUMEA 22.3S 166.5E 1538Z 11 MAR
TONGA NUKUALOFA 21.0S 184.8E 1605Z 11 MAR
MEXICO ENSENADA 31.8N 243.2E 1650Z 11 MAR
PUNTA_ABREOJOS 26.7N 246.4E 1738Z 11 MAR
CABO_SAN_LUCAS 22.8N 250.0E 1815Z 11 MAR
SOCORRO 18.8N 249.0E 1825Z 11 MAR
MAZATLAN 23.2N 253.6E 1904Z 11 MAR
MANZANILLO 19.1N 255.7E 1930Z 11 MAR
ACAPULCO 16.9N 260.1E 2005Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_MADERO 14.8N 267.5E 2140Z 11 MAR
KERMADEC IS RAOUL_IS. 29.2S 182.1E 1656Z 11 MAR
FR. POLYNESIA PAPEETE 17.5S 210.4E 1714Z 11 MAR
HIVA_OA 10.0S 221.0E 1753Z 11 MAR
RIKITEA 23.1S 225.0E 1921Z 11 MAR
NEW ZEALAND NORTH_CAPE 34.4S 173.3E 1723Z 11 MAR
EAST_CAPE 37.7S 178.5E 1823Z 11 MAR
AUCKLAND(W) 37.1S 174.2E 1823Z 11 MAR
GISBORNE 38.7S 178.0E 1829Z 11 MAR
MILFORD_SOUND 44.6S 167.9E 1847Z 11 MAR
WELLINGTON 41.3S 174.8E 1853Z 11 MAR
AUCKLAND(E) 36.7S 175.0E 1905Z 11 MAR
NEW_PLYMOUTH 39.1S 174.1E 1908Z 11 MAR
NAPIER 39.5S 176.9E 1917Z 11 MAR
WESTPORT 41.8S 171.6E 1937Z 11 MAR
DUNEDIN 45.9S 170.5E 2029Z 11 MAR
LYTTELTON 43.6S 172.7E 2103Z 11 MAR
BLUFF 46.6S 168.3E 2120Z 11 MAR
NELSON 41.3S 173.3E 2215Z 11 MAR
PITCAIRN PITCAIRN_IS. 25.1S 229.9E 2008Z 11 MAR
GUATEMALA SIPICATE 13.9N 268.8E 2156Z 11 MAR
EL SALVADOR ACAJUTLA 13.6N 270.2E 2202Z 11 MAR
COSTA RICA CABO_SAN_ELENA 10.9N 274.0E 2215Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_QUEPOS 9.4N 275.8E 2241Z 11 MAR
CABO_MATAPALO 8.4N 276.7E 2243Z 11 MAR
NICARAGUA CORINTO 12.5N 272.8E 2223Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_SANDINO 12.2N 273.2E 2229Z 11 MAR
SAN_JUAN_DL_SUR 11.2N 274.1E 2239Z 11 MAR
ANTARCTICA CAPE_ADARE 71.0S 170.0E 2230Z 11 MAR
THURSTON_IS. 72.0S 260.0E 0129Z 12 MAR
PANAMA PUNTA_BURICA 8.0N 277.1E 2254Z 11 MAR
PUNTA_MALA 7.5N 280.0E 2340Z 11 MAR
PUERTO_PINA 7.4N 282.0E 2350Z 11 MAR
BALBOA_HTS. 9.0N 280.4E 0201Z 12 MAR
HONDURAS AMAPALA 13.2N 272.4E 2259Z 11 MAR
CHILE EASTER_IS. 27.1S 250.6E 2303Z 11 MAR
ARICA 18.5S 289.7E 0251Z 12 MAR
IQUIQUE 20.2S 289.9E 0256Z 12 MAR
ANTOFAGASTA 23.3S 289.6E 0302Z 12 MAR
CALDERA 27.1S 289.2E 0322Z 12 MAR
GOLFO_DE_PENAS 47.1S 285.1E 0324Z 12 MAR
COQUIMBO 29.9S 288.6E 0331Z 12 MAR
VALPARAISO 33.0S 288.4E 0345Z 12 MAR
CORRAL 39.8S 286.5E 0401Z 12 MAR
TALCAHUANO 36.7S 286.9E 0407Z 12 MAR
PUERTO_MONTT 41.5S 287.0E 0601Z 12 MAR
PUERTO_WILLIAMS 54.8S 291.8E 0904Z 12 MAR
PUNTA_ARENAS 53.2S 289.1E 1708Z 12 MAR
ECUADOR BALTRA_IS. 0.5S 269.7E 2338Z 11 MAR
ESMERELDAS 1.2N 280.2E 0009Z 12 MAR
LA_LIBERTAD 2.2S 278.8E 0030Z 12 MAR
COLOMBIA BAHIA_SOLANO 6.3N 282.6E 2353Z 11 MAR
TUMACO 1.8N 281.1E 0018Z 12 MAR
BUENAVENTURA 3.8N 282.8E 0036Z 12 MAR
PERU TALARA 4.6S 278.5E 0041Z 12 MAR
PIMENTAL 6.9S 280.0E 0145Z 12 MAR
LA_PUNTA 12.1S 282.8E 0146Z 12 MAR
CHIMBOTE 9.0S 281.2E 0152Z 12 MAR
SAN_JUAN 15.3S 284.8E 0200Z 12 MAR
MOLLENDO 17.1S 288.0E 0233Z 12 MAR

BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ALSO ISSUE TSUNAMI MESSAGES
FOR THIS EVENT TO COUNTRIES IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC AND SOUTH
CHINA SEA REGION. IN CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION... THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.


http://www.weather.gov/ptwc/index.php?region=1