** TSUNAMI WARNING ** - Santa Cruz Islands !!

[lenseman]

** TSUNAMI VIDEO ** - Santa Cruz Islands !!

Tsunami bulletin number 003
pacific tsunami warning center/noaa/nws
issued at 0212z 06 feb 2013

this bulletin applies to areas within and bordering the pacific
ocean and adjacent seas...except alaska...british columbia...
Washington...oregon and california.

... A tsunami warning and watch are in effect ...

a tsunami warning is in effect for

solomon islands / vanuatu / nauru / papua new guinea / tuvalu /
new caledonia / kosrae / fiji / kiribati / wallis and futuna

a tsunami watch is in effect for

marshall islands / howland and baker / pohnpei / tokelau /
samoa / kermadec islands / new zealand / american samoa /
tonga / australia / niue / cook islands / indonesia /
wake island / chuuk / jarvis island / guam / northern marianas /
palmyra island / yap / johnston island / minamitorishima /
belau

for all other areas covered by this bulletin... It is for
information only at this time.

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 - 0112z 06 feb 2013
coordinates - 10.9 south 165.1 east
depth - 33 km
location - santa cruz islands
magnitude - 8.0

measurements or reports of tsunami wave activity

gauge location lat lon time ampl per
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
lata wharf sb 10.7s 165.8e 0129z 0.91m / 3.0ft 18min

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.

Evaluation

sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have
been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and
could also be a threat to more distant coasts. Authorities should
take appropriate action in response to this possibility. This
center will continue to monitor sea level data to determine the
extent and severity of the threat.

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
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
solomon islands kirakira 10.4s 161.9e 0145z 06 feb
auki 8.8s 160.6e 0216z 06 feb
honiara 9.3s 160.0e 0222z 06 feb
ghatere 7.8s 159.2e 0227z 06 feb
munda 8.4s 157.2e 0233z 06 feb
panggoe 6.9s 157.2e 0245z 06 feb
falamae 7.4s 155.6e 0253z 06 feb
vanuatu esperitu_santo 15.1s 167.3e 0158z 06 feb
anatom_island 20.2s 169.9e 0254z 06 feb
nauru nauru 0.5s 166.9e 0300z 06 feb
papua new guine kieta 6.1s 155.6e 0304z 06 feb
amun 6.0s 154.7e 0306z 06 feb
rabaul 4.2s 152.3e 0330z 06 feb
lae 6.8s 147.0e 0402z 06 feb
kavieng 2.5s 150.7e 0406z 06 feb
port_moresby 9.3s 146.9e 0426z 06 feb
madang 5.2s 145.8e 0428z 06 feb
manus_island 2.0s 147.5e 0445z 06 feb
wewak 3.5s 143.6e 0509z 06 feb
vanimo 2.6s 141.3e 0530z 06 feb
tuvalu funafuti_island 7.9s 178.5e 0322z 06 feb
new caledonia noumea 22.3s 166.5e 0339z 06 feb
kosrae kosrae_island 5.5n 163.0e 0354z 06 feb
fiji suva 18.1s 178.4e 0405z 06 feb
kiribati tarawa_island 1.5n 173.0e 0406z 06 feb
kanton_island 2.8s 188.3e 0446z 06 feb
christmas_islan 2.0n 202.5e 0650z 06 feb
malden_island 3.9s 205.1e 0700z 06 feb
flint_island 11.4s 208.2e 0732z 06 feb
wallis and futu futuna_island 14.3s 181.8e 0414z 06 feb
wallis_island 13.3s 183.8e 0422z 06 feb
marshall island kwajalein 8.7n 167.7e 0420z 06 feb
majuro 7.1n 171.4e 0424z 06 feb
eniwetok 11.4n 162.3e 0457z 06 feb
howland and bak howland_island 0.6n 183.4e 0424z 06 feb
pohnpei pohnpei_island 7.0n 158.2e 0438z 06 feb
tokelau nukunonu_island 9.2s 188.2e 0440z 06 feb
samoa apia 13.8s 188.2e 0458z 06 feb
kermadec island raoul_island 29.2s 182.1e 0504z 06 feb
new zealand north_cape 34.4s 173.3e 0505z 06 feb
auckland_west 37.1s 174.2e 0606z 06 feb
east_cape 37.7s 178.5e 0615z 06 feb
gisborne 38.7s 178.0e 0639z 06 feb
auckland_east 36.7s 175.0e 0647z 06 feb
new_plymouth 39.1s 174.1e 0651z 06 feb
wellington 41.3s 174.8e 0703z 06 feb
milford_sound 44.6s 167.9e 0720z 06 feb
napier 39.5s 176.9e 0727z 06 feb
westport 41.8s 171.6e 0730z 06 feb
american samoa pago_pago 14.3s 189.3e 0506z 06 feb
tonga nukualofa 21.0s 184.8e 0514z 06 feb
australia brisbane 27.2s 153.3e 0515z 06 feb
cairns 16.7s 145.8e 0520z 06 feb
sydney 33.9s 151.4e 0546z 06 feb
gladstone 23.8s 151.4e 0625z 06 feb
hobart 43.3s 147.6e 0721z 06 feb
mackay 21.1s 149.3e 0741z 06 feb
niue niue_island 19.0s 190.0e 0531z 06 feb
cook islands pukapuka_island 10.8s 194.1e 0533z 06 feb
penryn_island 8.9s 202.2e 0641z 06 feb
rarotonga 21.2s 200.2e 0647z 06 feb
indonesia jayapura 2.4s 140.8e 0537z 06 feb
warsa 0.6s 135.8e 0622z 06 feb
manokwari 0.8s 134.2e 0641z 06 feb
sorong 0.8s 131.1e 0710z 06 feb
berebere 2.5n 128.7e 0730z 06 feb
patani 0.4n 128.8e 0739z 06 feb
geme 4.6n 126.8e 0750z 06 feb
wake island wake_island 19.3n 166.6e 0547z 06 feb
chuuk chuuk_island 7.4n 151.8e 0555z 06 feb
jarvis island jarvis_island 0.4s 199.9e 0621z 06 feb
guam guam 13.4n 144.7e 0622z 06 feb
northern marian saipan 15.3n 145.8e 0626z 06 feb
palmyra island palmyra_island 6.3n 197.6e 0628z 06 feb
yap yap_island 9.5n 138.1e 0635z 06 feb
johnston island johnston_island 16.7n 190.5e 0637z 06 feb
minamitorishima minamitorishima 24.3n 154.0e 0640z 06 feb
belau malakal 7.3n 134.5e 0658z 06 feb

bulletins will be issued hourly or sooner if conditions warrant.
The tsunami warning and watch will remain in effect until
further notice.

The west coast/alaska tsunami warning center will issue products
for alaska...british columbia...washington...oregon...california.

 

[lenseman]

** cancellation **

tsunami bulletin number 008
pacific tsunami warning center/noaa/nws
issued at 0347z 06 feb 2013

this bulletin applies to areas within and bordering the pacific
ocean and adjacent seas...except alaska...british columbia...
Washington...oregon and california.

... Tsunami warning and watch cancellation ...

The tsunami warning issued by the pacific tsunami
warning center is now cancelled for

solomon islands / vanuatu / nauru / papua new guinea / tuvalu /
new caledonia / kosrae / fiji / kiribati / wallis and futuna

the tsunami watch issued by the pacific tsunami
warning center is now cancelled for

marshall islands / howland and baker / pohnpei / tokelau /
samoa / kermadec islands / new zealand / american samoa /
tonga / australia / niue / cook islands / indonesia /
wake island / chuuk / jarvis island / guam / northern marianas /
palmyra island / yap / johnston island / minamitorishima /
belau

 

[lenseman]

Follow up aftermath details from the Sydney (AP):

SYDNEY (AP) — A powerful earthquake off the Solomon Islands on Wednesday generated a tsunami of up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) that damaged dozens of homes and left at least four people missing and presumed dead in the South Pacific island chain.

Authorities canceled tsunami warnings on more distant coasts.

Local officials reported that two 1.5-meter (4 foot, 11-inch) waves hit the western side of Santa Cruz Island, damaging between 70 and 80 homes and properties, said George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister. Many villagers had headed to higher ground as a precaution, he said.

Dozens of aftershocks stronger than magnitude 5 followed the quake.

Solomon Islands Police Commissioner John Lansley said local police patrols reported that several people were presumed dead, though the reports were still being verified.

"Sadly, we believe some people have lost their lives," he said. "At the moment we potentially know of four, but there may of course be more."

One of the people presumed dead was fishing in a dugout canoe when the first wave hit, sweeping him out to sea, Herming said. Officials were searching for his body. Another woman was believed to have drowned when the water rushed into her village, Herming said.

Four villages on Santa Cruz were hit by the waves, with two facing severe damage, Lansley said. Other areas of the Solomons did not appear to have been seriously affected.

Disaster officials were struggling to reach the remote area after the tsunami flooded the airstrip at the nearest airport and left it littered with debris.

The tsunami formed after a magnitude-8.0 earthquake struck near the town of Lata, on Santa Cruz in Temotu, the easternmost province in the Solomons, about a 3-hour flight from the capital, Honiara. Temotu has a population of around 30,000.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami of about a meter (3 feet) was measured in Lata wharf. Smaller waves were recorded in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

The center canceled warnings for tsunami waves further away.

Richard Dapo, a school principal on an island near Santa Cruz, said he lives inland but has been fielding calls from families on the coast whose homes were damaged by the waves.

"I try to tell the people living on the coastline, 'Move inland, find a higher place. Make sure to keep away from the sea. Watch out for waves,'" he said.

He said he heard the waves swamped some smaller islands, although he was not aware of any deaths or serious injuries. He said it was difficult to contact people because cellphone coverage was patchy in the region.

In Honiara, the warnings prompted residents to flee for higher ground.

"People are still standing on the hills outside of Honiara just looking out over the water, trying to observe if there is a wave coming in," said Herming, the prime minister's spokesman.

Atenia Tahu, who works for the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. in Honiara, said most people were remaining calm.

"People around the coast and in the capital are ringing in and trying to get information from us and the National Disaster Office and are slowly moving up to higher ground," Tahu said. "But panic? No, no, no, people are not panicking."

Dr. Rooney Jagilly, the medical superintendent at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, said the hospital asked about half its 200 patients to leave and stay with families or friends as a precautionary measure because the hospital is located near the shoreline. Those patients who weren't mobile enough to move stayed, but the hospital remained ready to evacuate them.

Jagilly said there had been no flooding and he hoped the hospital would return to normal Thursday. He said his staff was ready to mobilize to Santa Cruz because the small hospital there has no doctor after the previous one recently died.

An official at the disaster management office in Vanuatu said there were no reports of damage or injuries there.

More than 50 people were killed and thousands lost their homes in April 2007 when a magnitude-8.1 quake hit the western Solomon Islands, sending waves crashing into coastal villages.

The Solomons comprise more than 200 islands with a population of about 552,000 people. They lie on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday's quake struck 81 kilometers (50 miles) west of Lata at a depth of 28.7 kilometers (17.8 miles).

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tsunami-warning-issued-south-pacific-islands



.

 

[lenseman]

Video of the recent Solomon Islands tsunami:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6rB2u2r6iM




.

 

[Mad Pad]

Not good,only been in one myself and that was South Majorca(Cala D'or) in ?2002.Nothing as bad as that but nobody knew what it was which was scary,until we heard about the massive earhquake in Norh Africa and put 2+2 together.Apparantly we will see the mother of all sunamis when the island in the Canaries falls in half..but will affect NYC more than London.Was doing some reasearch on how the Lisbon earthquake affected Cork,couldn't find much apart from the market in Kinsale being flooded,would have thought Baltimore would have taken a hit.Best MP.

 

[pohopetch]

This is not the Solomon Tsunami

Video of the recent Solomon Islands tsunami:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6rB2u2r6iM

.

Hi David - no way is this video from the Solomons. There is not that much concrete in the entire country. Lata, the capital of Santa Cruz, on Nende Island in Tomotu Province has a single small wharf (blocked by an old wreck) and thats it. Even the capital of the Solomons, Honiara, has nothing like this harbour. I suspect someone is just trying to make money off YouTube by re-posting some Japanese footage. I have sailed around the Santa Cruz Islands and the whole Solomon chain. YouTube is full of scammers.

My sympathy goes out to the victims of the real Tsunami. Some of the Islands (Fenualoa in the Reef Islands fro example, 30NM from Nende) are only a maximum of 1 to 2m above sea level.

 

[Tradewinds]

I nearly posted the same thing.

Don't know the Solomons but I vaguely remember a Japanese clip just like that where millions of tons of water eventually poured over the harbour wall into the neighbouring village - horrifying.