Tsunami warning from quake 3 hrs ago

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/04/01/quake.tsunami/

Story Highlights• Warning for a huge part of the Pacific including Australia and Indonesia.
• Watch issued for some other parts of the Pacific including New Zealand
• Quake registered a magnitude of 7.6

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(CNN) -- Two large back-to-back earthquakes centered in the region of the Solomon Islands triggered a tsunami warning Sunday for a huge part of the Pacific including Australia and Indonesia.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's Fixed Regional Tsunami Warning also included Papua New Guinea and several other islands in the region.

A watch was issued for some other parts of the Pacific, including New Zealand, the Philippines, American Samoa, Guam, and Fiji.

The U.S. National Weather Service said its West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued an advisory for residents along the California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska coast, but it said a damaging tsunami is not expected in that area. That advisory is sent out whenever the PTWC issues a tsunami warning for other regions in the Pacific Basin.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake, magnitude 7.6, took place at 8:40 Coordinated Universal Time (4:40 ET) and was centered 25 miles (45 km) south-southeast of Gizo, New Georgia Islands, and 1330 miles (2145 km) north-northeast of Brisbane, Australia.

The second, nearby just minutes later, had a magnitude 6.7.

Officials in New Zealand and Australia said they had no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

 

Tsunami Bulletin Number 004
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center/noaa/nws
Issued At 0013z 02 Apr 2007

This Bulletin Is For All Areas Of The Pacific Basin Except
Alaska - British Columbia - Washington - Oregon - California.

Note: Areas To The North Of The Solomons Should
Not Be Significantly Affected.

... A Tsunami Warning And Watch Remains In Effect ...

A Tsunami Warning Is In Effect For

Solomon Is. / Papua New Guinea / Vanuatu /
New Caledonia / Australia /
Tuvalu / Kiribati / Fiji

A Tsunami Watch Is In Effect For

Kermadec / New Zealand

For All Other Pacific Areas, This Message Is An Advisory Only.

An Earthquake Has Occurred With These Preliminary Parameters


Origin Time - 2040z 01 Apr 2007
Coordinates - 8.6 South 157.2 East
Location - Solomon Islands
Magnitude - 8.1

Measurements Or Reports Of Tsunami Wave Activity

Gauge Location Lat Lon Time Ampl Per
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
Honiara Sb 9.4s 160.0e 2235z 0.14m = 0.5ft 70min
Vanuatu Vu 17.8s 168.3e 2351z 0.11m = 0.4ft 26min

Lat - Latitude (n=north, S=south)
Lon - Longitude (e=east, W=west)
Time - Time Of The Measurement (z = Utc = Greenwich Time)
Ampl - Tsunami Amplitude Measured Relative To Normal Sea Level.
It Is ...not... Crest-to-trough Wave Height.
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. Actual Arrival Times
May Differ And The Initial Wave May Not Be The Largest. The Time
Between Successive Tsunami Waves Can Be Five Minutes To One Hour.

Location Coordinates Arrival Time
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
Solomon Is. Munda 8.4s 157.2e 2039z 01 Apr
Falamae 7.4s 155.6e 2103z 01 Apr
Panggoe 6.9s 157.2e 2120z 01 Apr
Honiara 9.3s 160.0e 2121z 01 Apr
Ghatere 7.8s 159.2e 2122z 01 Apr
Auki 8.8s 160.6e 2134z 01 Apr
Kirakira 10.4s 161.9e 2140z 01 Apr
Papua New Guine Amun 6.0s 154.7e 2124z 01 Apr
Kieta 6.1s 155.6e 2133z 01 Apr
Rabaul 4.2s 152.3e 2145z 01 Apr
Lae 6.8s 147.0e 2218z 01 Apr
Kavieng 2.5s 150.7e 2223z 01 Apr
Madang 5.2s 146.0e 2241z 01 Apr
Port Moresby 9.5s 147.0e 2254z 01 Apr
Manus Is. 2.0s 147.5e 2259z 01 Apr
Wewak 3.5s 143.6e 2325z 01 Apr
Vanimo 2.6s 141.3e 2350z 01 Apr
Vanuatu Esperitu Santo 15.1s 167.3e 2236z 01 Apr
Anatom Is. 20.2s 169.9e 2322z 01 Apr
New Caledonia Noumea 22.3s 166.5e 2338z 01 Apr
Australia Cairns 16.7s 145.8e 2349z 01 Apr
Brisbane 27.2s 153.3e 0033z 02 Apr
Sydney 33.9s 151.4e 0114z 02 Apr
Gladstone 23.8s 151.4e 0139z 02 Apr
Mackay 21.1s 149.3e 0144z 02 Apr
Hobart 43.3s 147.6e 0245z 02 Apr
Tuvalu Funafuti Is. 7.9s 178.5e 2359z 01 Apr
Kiribati Tarawa Is. 1.5n 173.0e 0007z 02 Apr
Kanton Is. 2.8s 171.7w 0121z 02 Apr
Christmas Is. 2.0n 157.5w 0325z 02 Apr
Malden Is. 3.9s 154.9w 0336z 02 Apr
Flint Is. 11.4s 151.8w 0408z 02 Apr
Fiji Suva 18.1s 178.4e 0038z 02 Apr
Kermadec Is ***** Is. 29.2s 177.9w 0131z 02 Apr
New Zealand North Cape 34.4s 173.3e 0138z 02 Apr
East Cape 37.5s 178.5e 0214z 02 Apr
Auckland(w) 37.1s 174.2e 0238z 02 Apr
Gisborne 38.7s 178.0e 0247z 02 Apr
Milford Sound 44.5s 167.8e 0249z 02 Apr
New Plymouth 39.1s 174.1e 0310z 02 Apr
Napier 39.5s 176.9e 0316z 02 Apr
Westport 41.8s 171.2e 0332z 02 Apr
Auckland(e) 36.7s 175.0e 0332z 02 Apr
Wellington 41.5s 174.8e 0333z 02 Apr
Bluff 46.6s 168.3e 0351z 02 Apr
Nelson 41.3s 173.3e 0426z 02 Apr
Lyttelton 43.6s 172.7e 0439z 02 Apr
Dunedin 45.9s 170.5e 0506z 02 Apr

Bulletins Will Be Issued Hourly Or Sooner If Conditions Warrant.
The Tsunami Warning And Watch 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 Bulletins
For Alaska - British Columbia - Washington - Oregon - California.

 

The USGS just upgraded their estimate of this quake to Richter 8.0:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2007/us2007aqbk/

 

Reported on the early evening news in UK as 13 dead and scores of homes flattened! Usually wildly inacurate these first reports and the dead tend to get multiplied by up to five times or more - here we go again! News item stated no reports / warnings given! looks like there were if only for a short time before - but AS LONG AS YOU RECEIVE it this can often be enough to save life! (maybe not your property but you can rebuild a house, not so a family!)

 

Plenty of warnings here apparantly- I guess we had enough time,
a significant part of our east coast took precautionary action.

Strangley enough i spent the better part of my morning learning about earthquakes, and particularly the last Aceh one resulting in the last Tsunami.

Very sad.

 

From the reports it was sudden and widespread in the Solomons. Sad, but there may be many more dead once rescuers can reach all the affected areas. Only one blessing, it happened after sunup in the morning. Had it happened a few hours earlier, there might have been few survivors.

I heard one report of Papua New Guinea being hit. Any reports of other islands in the region being affected?

 

whats going on with the new warning system?was this a result of it ..or has it not gone into affect?

 

The quake was reportedly right next to the Solomons. I read some interviews with a govt official and several survivors. They all said the first wave hit within minutes after the quake struck, some said the ground was still shaking when the first wave hit. Australia and many other places in the Pacific Rim received the warning and some evacuated beach areas, but the Solomons were right on top of it, no time for warnings.

 

yes sadly ,,that can be expected,,for me its tornados,you can get some warning ,,but if it is the first one ,,and on you ,your s,o,l.

 

I was in the last one ,--I saw it coming right at me.

Some of the tsunami alarm systems that Thailand have spent a fortune on to save tourists should this happen again, has been vandalised.

I read in the local Phuket gazette that they had been broken into and copper wire taken for scrap,--Now thats sad.