View Full Version : Australia on tsunami watch after quake
February 27, 2010 - 8:44PM
AFP
Australia is on tsunami watch after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile's coast, toppling buildings and killing at least six people.
"An undersea earthquake has occurred near the coast of Central Chile," the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said in a statement, warning of a potential tsunami threat to NSW, Queensland, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.
"Tsunami waves have been observed on the coast of Chile that may threaten Australia."
The quake, capable of tremendous damage, hit off Chile's coast at 3:34am local time (1734 AEDT) on Saturday, shaking buildings in the capital, where some have buildings collapsed.
The epicentre of the tremor was 100 kilometres north northwest of the Chilean town of Chillan and 115 kilometres northeast of Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river.
The quake was felt in Argentina as well.
The survey had initially put the magnitude of the tremor at 8.5 but later adjusted it to 8.8.
In Australia, the BoM said tsunami waves could start affecting Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands after 8:30am (AEDT) on Sunday.
NSW could be hit after 8:45am (AEDT) on Sunday while Queensland would be hit 8:15am (AEST)
The website said the next advice would be issued by 9.15pm (AEDT) on Saturday.
The US Pacific Tsunami warning centre has also issued a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru, and a tsunami watch is in place for Ecuador, Colombia, Antarctica, Panama and Costa Rica.
Japan's meteorological agency also warned of a tsunami risk across large areas of the Pacific as US geologists said the risk extended as far as the Antarctic.
"There is a possibility that tsunami will widely occur in the Pacific Ocean," an official for the Japanese agency said.
"We are now checking if tsunami may hit Japanese coastal areas."
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/australia-on-tsunami-watch-after-quake-20100227-pa7b.html
morjo
27-02-2010, 10:02 AM
8.8 is a significant quake, but Chile is a fair distance from Australia, even NZ.
tracker
27-02-2010, 10:05 AM
8.8 is a significant quake, but Chile is a fair distance from Australia, even NZ.
tsunamis travel around the world .
it doesnt matter how far you are , if you are in the path , your fkd !
distance makes no difference and infact some times the distance enhances the power , just for the record .
the only thing that stops a tsunami
is land .:cool:
princessofwands
27-02-2010, 10:06 AM
I heard on BBC radio 5 an hour ago that the tsunami was very small in height and they weren't that worried about it...
lextorite
27-02-2010, 10:09 AM
I heard on BBC radio 5 an hour ago that the tsunami was very small in height and they weren't that worried about it...
By the time it reaches New Zealand, Australia and Eastern Asia, it'll be huge.
moving finger
27-02-2010, 10:11 AM
tsunamis travel around the world .
it doesnt matter how far you are , if you are in the path , your fkd !
distance makes no difference and infact some times the distance enhances the power , just for the record .
the only thing that stops a tsunami
is land .:cool:
Sorry, but that's wrong.
Tsunami is not the physical movement of water, it is the transmission of an energy pulse through water from an earthquake. As that energy pulse travels it is dissipated because it is spread out over a wide area. If an area experiences a sudden lessening of ocean depth, or narrowing of channels through which the energy wave passes, then the wave height will increase, but otherwise the further the wave goes, the less high it is.
vera susa
27-02-2010, 10:33 AM
Sorry, but that's wrong.
Tsunami is not the physical movement of water, it is the transmission of an energy pulse through water from an earthquake. As that energy pulse travels it is dissipated because it is spread out over a wide area. If an area experiences a sudden lessening of ocean depth, or narrowing of channels through which the energy wave passes, then the wave height will increase, but otherwise the further the wave goes, the less high it is.
:)...good on ya, moving finger, but just to let you know,
this is just another slag off and curse Australia post, things
like Facts, Truth or considered thinking, aren't important, to
'them'.;)
:)...good on ya, moving finger, but just to let you know,
this is just another slag off and curse Australia post, things
like Facts, Truth or considered thinking, aren't important, to
'them'.;)
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/yassx/250px-Medusa_by_Caravaggio.jpg
vera susa
27-02-2010, 11:48 AM
This is making me ANGRY!
HOW DARE 'they'!
HOW BLOODY DARE ANYONE,
turn this into another,
'Australia is dangerous' LIE!
PEOPLE, HUMAN BEINGS are BEING KILLED
AROUND THE WORLD, BY THE MOVING,
SHAKING, EXPLODING EARTH, and still,
NO ONE IS POINTING OUT THE FACTS of
THE EARTH, that GOD FORE WARNED US
to WATCH FOR as WARNINGS to
STOP TRUSTING MANkind TO SAVE ANYONE!
God DESCRIBED this SAFE, STABLE land
with NO VOLCANOES, sitting on it's OWN,
ONE, Tectonic Plate!
What's so hard about grasping THE REAL
FACTS of THE REAL EARTH
that WAS DESCRIBED FROM THE BEGINNING,
and so PROVES THE TRUTH of GOD'S WORD
and BETTER Than GOOD NEWS, BEST NEWS
of THE BEST PROMISE anyone with a heart
could conceive???
And NO, you do NOT have to live here to
RECEIVE THAT PROMISE, here exists FOR
ALL The World to SEE, and KNOW that
ONLY OUR CREATOR CAN and DOES SAVE
The ETERNAL LIVES of HIS FAITHFUL.
http://maps.unomaha.edu/maher/GEOL1010/lecture15/map_plate_tectonics_world.gif
http://www.plainedgeschools.org/swells/volcanoes.jpg
plate boundary: relation to volcanoes
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/53/4953-004-9D51CA25.jpg
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/632130/3266/Volcanic-activity-and-the-Earths-tectonic-plates-Stratovolcanoes-tend-to
ROV records volcano erupting on ocean floor
12/22/2009
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/Data/2009_12_22/ROV-records-volcano-erupting-on-ocean-floor/Ocean_Volcano_350.jpg
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/Data/2009_12_22/ROV-records-volcano-erupting-on-ocean-floor/Ocean_VolcanoMap_675.jpg
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/Data/2009_12_22/ROV-records-volcano-erupting-on-ocean-floor/Ocean_LavaFlow-Darleen_350.jpg
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2009/12/22/rov-records-volcano-erupting-on-ocean-floor.aspx
Volcanism of Italy
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Italy_volcano_map.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanism_of_Italy
Largest earthquakes by magnitude
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes#Largest_earthquakes_by_magnitu de
vera susa
27-02-2010, 11:50 AM
:)...good on ya, moving finger, but just to let you know,
this is just another slag off and curse Australia post, things
like Facts, Truth or considered thinking, aren't important, to
'them'.;)
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/yassx/250px-Medusa_by_Caravaggio.jpg
You ARE TOO WILLINGLY EVIL
to get off with being called 'sick',
like the rest of the 'names' LAUGHING
at EVERY DEATH, SLAUGHTER of INNOCENTS
and MASSIVE DISASTER.
You ARE TOO WILLINGLY EVIL
to get off with being called 'sick',
like the rest of the 'names' LAUGHING
at EVERY DEATH, SLAUGHTER of INNOCENTS
and MASSIVE DISASTER.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/yassx/584px-Medusa_by_Caravaggio.jpg
Happening now
Chile rocked by devastating quake; Australia braces for tsunami
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/yassx/chilequake2_508381gm-a.jpg
Death toll climbs as tsunami warnings issued over South America, Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia
Tokyo — Reuters, The Associated Press Published on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 8:11AM EST Last updated on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 8:22AM EST
Wide swaths of the south Pacific, Asia and Australia are braced for a tsunami after a devastating earthquake hit the coast of Chile Saturday, killing at least 78 people, collapsing buildings and setting off a tsunami.
A huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 660 kilometres off the Chilean coast, said President Michele Bachelet.
Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area, including South America, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and many Pacific islands.
“It has been a devastating earthquake,” Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma told reporters.
President Bachelet said the death toll was at 78 and rising, but officials had no information on the number of people injured. She declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile.
“We have had a huge earthquake, with some aftershocks,” President Bachelet said from an emergency response centre. She urged Chileans not to panic.
“Despite this, the system is functioning. People should remain calm. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately,” she said.
In the 2 1/2 hours following the 90-second quake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported 11 aftershocks, five of them measuring 6.0 or above.
President Bachelet urged people to avoid travelling, since traffic lights are down, to avoid causing more fatalities.
In the capital, Santiago airport was shut down and will remain closed for at least the next 24 hours, airport director Eduardo del Canto said. The passenger terminal has suffered major damage, he told Chilean television in a telephone interview. TV images show smashed windows, partially collapsed ceilings and pedestrian walkways destroyed.
Chilean television showed images of destroyed buildings and damaged cars, with rubble-strewn streets. Dozens of people were seen roaming through the streets, including some wheeling suitcases behind them. There was a fire burning in one street with people sitting nearby trying to keep warm.
The quake hit 325 kilometres southwest of Santiago, at a depth of 35 kilometres at 1:34 a.m. EST, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Officials in Japan and Australia warned a tsunami from the earthquake was likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning that included the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, and many island nations in the Pacific.
A lower-level advisory that a tsunami was possible was issued for northern Pacific locations, including the U.S. West Coast and Alaska.
British Columbia was not under a tsunami watch or warning. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami advisory for coastal areas of California from the California-Mexico border to the Oregon-California border, and coastal Alaska.
“Sea-level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could cause widespread damage,” the centre said in a bulletin after the magnitude-8.8 quake. “Authorities should take appropriate action to respond to this threat.”
The centre noted that the first waves after a quake are not necessarily the largest and said tsunami wave heights are difficult to predict because they can vary significantly along a coast due to the local topography.
Earthquakes across the Pacific have had deadly effects on Asia in the past.
A tsunami after a 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 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.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK quoted earthquake experts as saying the tsunami would likely be tens of centimetres (inches) high and reach Japan in about 22 hours. A tsunami of 28 centimetres was recorded after a magnitude-8.4 earthquake near Chile in 2001.
The Meteorological Agency said it was still investigating the likelihood of a tsunami from the magnitude-8.8 quake and did not issue a formal coastal warning.
Australia, meanwhile, was put on a tsunami watch.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for a “potential tsunami threat” to New South Wales state, Queensland state, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Any potential wave would not hit Australia until Sunday morning local time, it said.
The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology issued a low-level alert saying people should await further notice of a possible tsunami. It did not recommend evacuations.
The earthquake that struck early Saturday in central Chile shook the capital for a minute and a half.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/chile-rocked-by-devastating-quake-australia-braces-for-tsunami/article1483835/
Tsunami warning: onlookers told to stay away
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/yassx/r508429_2733287.jpg
People should stay away from beaches until the threat has passed. (File photo) (ABC TV News - file image)
Related Story: NZ issues tsunami alert after Chile quake
Related Story: Tsunami warning spreads across Pacific
A tsunami warning has been issued for parts of the New South Wales and Queensland coast following an earthquake in Chile.
The weather bureau says the coastline could be affected just north of Sydney up to Brisbane, but it is unlikely there will be any land inundation.
The tsunami is expected to reach Australia around 8:45am AEDT.
People in affected areas are being advised not to go down to the shore to see the waves come in.
Wayne Coutts from Queensland's Department of Emergency Services say the tsunami is likely to produce dangerous waves, strong ocean currents and foreshore flooding in south-east Queensland from Point Danger to Double Island Point and Moreton Bay off Brisbane.
He says people should stay away from beaches until the threat has passed.
"Tomorrow morning we don't want people walking along the beach, even going down to the beach to have a look," he said.
"We don't want people swimming on the beach - that is the main threat we are concerned about.
"There is no need for evacuations, there is no plan for that it's certainly just for the marine environment."
Coolangatta after 08:15 am (EST) Sunday
Maroochydore after 09:00 am (EST) Sunday
Brisbane after 09:15 am (EST) Sunday
Do not go to the coast to watch the tsunami. Check that your neighbours have received this advice.
Boats in harbours, estuaries or shallow coastal water should return to shore.
Secure your boat and move away from the waterfront. Vessels already at sea should stay offshore in deep water until further advised.
Do not go to the coast to watch the tsunami, as there is the possibility of dangerous, localised flooding of the immediate foreshore
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/28/2832179.htm
redorbluepill
27-02-2010, 01:57 PM
Haiti, Japan, Chile, WTF. Giant meteors striking the Earth...........the times, they are a changing.
simmo
27-02-2010, 02:45 PM
I live near where it's expected to hit at 8:15am. Tempted to get atop a high hill and see what happens.
vera susa
27-02-2010, 02:51 PM
Ah, finally, a little sanity from
Australian Government, ABC News:
The weather bureau has issued a tsunami warning
for parts of the New South Wales and Queensland coast,
but says it is largely precautionary.
The warning stretches from
just north of Sydney up to Brisbane,
but emergency services say
there probably will not be any land inundation.
The larger than normal waves
are expected to reach Australia around 8.45am AEDT.
People in affected areas are being advised
not to go down to the shore
to see the waves come in.:D;)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/27/2832153.htm
Tsunami lands in Australia after Chile quake
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/yassx/ScreenShot019-19.jpg
SYDNEY
Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:43pm EST
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A tsunami generated by a 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile hit beaches in eastern Australia on Sunday, witnesses and officials said, but there were no initial reports of damage.
Australia issued an alert overnight for most of its east coast, and for eastern parts of the island state of Tasmania.
But the national tsunami warning center said there were no concerns about major inundation, only foreshore flooding and strong currents which could pose a risk to swimmers or boats.
Chris Ryan, co-director of the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center, told Reuters that residents in low-lying parts of offshore Norfolk Island had been evacuated as a precaution but he was not aware of any other evacuations in Australia.
Ryan said more waves could be expected later in the morning. The 'marine warning' level of threat issued by the center corresponded to anticipated waves of half to one meter above the normal level of the sea at that time, he said.
Although the tsunami also hit Pacific island nations, there were no initial reports of major damage.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61Q31T20100227
Three metre tsunami could hit Japan - govt agency
Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:02am GMT
TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A tsunami of up to 3 metres could hit Japan's Pacific coasts following the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile, a government agency official said on Sunday.
"Once our tsunami warning is issued, please evacuate to high ground and never go near the coast," an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency told reporters.
The agency had said earlier the tsunami could hit the Japanese coast as early as 1:00 p.m. (0400 GMT).
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTOE61Q00W20100228