Earthquake

[lumberjim]

tsunami warning for Hawaii in wake of Chilean Shaker

Chile earthquake generates cross-Pacific tsunami

February 27, 2010

Tokyo (AP) — People in Hawaii were urgently told to protect lives and property from a tsunami crossing the Pacific as fast as a jetliner after a devastating earthquake in Chile.
Tsunami waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of the earthquake, which struck early Saturday on Chile's coast.
Though notoriously hard to predict, the tsunami was not expected to be as devastating as the waves generated after a magnitude-9.5 earthquake hit Chile in 1960. Most countries, awaiting further data, did not order evacuations Saturday but instead advised people in low-lying areas to watch for further updates.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii advised that a tsunami was possible in the northern Pacific, including the U.S. West Coast and Alaska.
"Sea-level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could cause widespread damage," the center said in a bulletin after the magnitude-8.8 quake. "Authorities should take appropriate action to respond to this threat."
The center noted that tsunami wave heights are difficult to predict because they can vary significantly along a coast due to the local topography.
Some Pacific nations in the warning area were heavily damaged by a tsunami last year. On Sept. 29, a tsunami spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed 34 people in American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga. Scientists later said that wave was 46 feet (14 meters) high.
Past South American earthquakes have had deadly effects across the Pacific.
A tsunami after the magnitude-9.5 quake that struck Chile in 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded, killed about 140 people in Japan, 61 in Hawaii and 32 in the Philippines. That tsunami was about 3.3 to 13 feet (one to four meters) in height, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
The tsunami from Saturday's quake was likely to be much smaller because the quake itself was not as strong.

[skysidhe]

I was just reading up on Tsunami.

To be out of the danger zone it's 2 miles in or 100 feet above sea level.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Depends on topography. The '64 Alaska quake produced waves that were generally less than 70 feet, but over 100 ft in Cook Inlet, and further down the coast, a dead end bay was stripped of all the soil and vegetation, for several hundred feet elevation up the sides of the hills. Kansas in safer.

[skysidhe]

geez

So the bays and inlets suck all the water inland?

As far as Hawaii goes I found it odd that the alarm sirens will ring at the 3 hour mark. I think I'd want a faster head start. A mass exodus out of the danger zone makes 3 hours pretty tight.

[xoxoxoBruce]

They usually narrow down and get shallow quickly, that increases the impact at the end like it was coming through a funnel.

[TheMercenary]

We had one tsunami warning when we lived in Hawaii. It was pretty wild. The highest points in our area of the island were where all the cemetarys were located. So hords of people showed up and just camped for a few hours, had picnics, and drank. It was interesting.

[tw]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

The highest points in our area of the island were where all the cemetarys were located. So hords of people showed up and just camped for a few hours, had picnics, and drank. It was interesting.

It must have scared the shit out of the ghosts.

[Aliantha]

We were on alert for a tsunami, but in the end the waves that got here were pretty tiny. Dazza is in New Caledonia on business at the moment, so I was a bit concerned for him, but there wasn't too much to report there either.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

We were on alert for a tsunami, but in the end the waves that got here were pretty tiny.

Apparently the waves went the other direction - into Chile.

[Aliantha]

Isn't that where they started from? Due to the earthquake...

[tw]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Isn't that where they started from? Due to the earthquake...

The earthquake was in the ocean offshore of Maule, Chile. It was an 8.8 followed 30 minutes later by a 6.2. A tsunami would be caused by land movement beneath the ocean and just off the coast.

Apparently Chile was struck by a 10 meter wave.

[xoxoxoBruce]

FOX News seems to think the tsunami knocked Sydney clear across the continent.

[Aliantha]

haha...that's just so ironic (if you're not a huge fan of fox news).

That's not even where Darwin is, or any other major city. There are only a few small ports there to support the fishing industry in the gulf, and there are a few mining communities and some aboriginal tribal lands. No huge thriving metropolis. lol

[xoxoxoBruce]

And crocodiles.

[Aliantha]

Oh and tw, I'd be interested to know where you got your info from about the 10m waves in Chile. So far, the best I could find were 3.5m waves in the Robinson Crusoe islands.