Chile tsunami watched for Pacific threat [1]
Wednesday, April 2, 2014 - 15:15. Updated on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 - 18:04.
A major earthquake that struck off the coast of northern Chile this afternoon has generated a significant tsunami with tsunami warnings issued for the Pacific coasts of South America.
According to a tweet by The Weather Channel, a 6.3-foot tsunami has been reported at Pisagua, Chile, and a 5.6-foot tsunami at Isquique, Chile.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has issued an expanding regional tsunami warning and watch for parts of the Pacific located closer to the earthquake. An evaluation of the Pacific wide tsunami threat is underway and there is a possibility that Hawaii [and other Pacific Islands] could be elevated to a watch or warning status.
The PTWC stated that if tsunami waves impact Hawaii their estimated earliest arrival time is 0324 am HST Wednesday 02 April 2014 (Tonga time Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 2:25:00 am).
The travel time for a tsunami from Chile to Tonga or Hawaii is about 13-14 hours from the event time according to the map at Tsunami travel times [2]
The United States Geological Survey says the earthquake was a magnitude 8.2.
The earthquake struck 61 miles northwest of Iquique, Chile at 23:46 UTC at a depth of 6.2 miles. According to the Associated Press, this area has been rattled by smaller quakes over the last two weeks.
Further information is posted at Chile tsunami [3]
Update 6:00pm Tonga time
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has now determined that no tsunami threat exists for other coastal areas although some may experience small sea level changes. For all areas covered by this center the tsunami warning and watch are now cancelled (6:00pm Tonga time).
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 006
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0443Z 02 APR 2014
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 AND/OR WATCH ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER IS NOW CANCELLED FOR
CHILE / PERU / ECUADOR / COLOMBIA / PANAMA / COSTA RICA /
NICARAGUA / EL SALVADOR / GUATEMALA / MEXICO / HONDURAS /
ANTARCTICA / PITCAIRN / FRENCH POLYNESIA
Update 4:45pm Tonga time:
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 6
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
546 PM HST TUE APR 01 2014
MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY
- GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
- ------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
- JUAN FERNANDEZ 33.6S 78.8W 0215Z 0.16M / 0.5FT 36MIN
- SAN FELIX CL 26.3S 80.1W 0137Z 0.68M / 2.2FT 06MIN
- COQUIMBO CL 30.0S 71.3W 0138Z 0.15M / 0.5FT 34MIN
- CALDERA CL 27.1S 70.8W 0102Z 0.11M / 0.4FT 30MIN
- CHANARAL CL 26.4S 70.6W 0133Z 0.24M / 0.8FT 28MIN
- CALLAO LA-PUNTA PE 12.1S 77.2W 0158Z 0.12M / 0.4FT 38MIN
- ARICA CL 18.5S 70.3W 0116Z 1.83M / 6.0FT 18MIN
- MATARANI PE 17.0S 72.1W 0127Z 0.58M / 1.9FT 08MIN
- PAPOSO CL 25.0S 70.5W 0125Z 0.26M / 0.9FT 22MIN
- PISAGUA CL 19.6S 70.2W 0055Z 2.01M / 6.6FT 12MIN
- MEJILLONES CL 23.1S 70.5W 0103Z 0.86M / 2.8FT 34MIN
- TOCOPILLA CL 22.1S 70.2W 0109Z 0.42M / 1.4FT 10MIN
- DART 32402 26.7S 74.0W 0044Z 0.05M / 0.2FT 44MIN
- ANTOFAGASTA CL 23.7S 70.4W 0034Z 0.25M / 0.8FT 18MIN
- PATACHE CL 20.8S 70.2W 0015Z 1.51M / 5.0FT 10MIN
- IQUIQUE CL 20.2S 70.1W 0005Z 2.11M / 6.9FT 12MIN
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
Based on all available data a major tsunami is not expected to strike the state of Hawaii. However, sea level changes and strong currents may occur along all coasts that could be a hazard to swimmers and boaters as well as to persons near the shore at beaches and in harbors and marinas. The threat may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival.This story will be updated as information becomes available.