Tsunami - Powerful quake off Samoa islands

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Doesn't look horrendous at the moment , waves of 1.57m max being recorded

Tsunami bulletin number 002
pacific tsunami warning center/noaa/nws
issued at 1856z 29 sep 2009

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

american samoa / samoa / niue / wallis-futuna / tokelau /
cook islands / tonga / tuvalu / kiribati / kermadec is / fiji /
howland-baker / jarvis is. / new zealand / fr. Polynesia /
palmyra is. / vanuatu / nauru / marshall is. / solomon is.

A tsunami watch is in effect for

johnston is. / new caledonia / kosrae / papua new guinea /
hawaii / pohnpei / wake is. / pitcairn / midway is. / chuuk /
australia

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
note the magnitude upgrade to 8.3

origin time - 1748z 29 sep 2009
coordinates - 15.3 south 171.0 west
depth - 33 km
location - samoa islands region
magnitude - 8.3

measurements or reports of tsunami wave activity

gauge location lat lon time ampl per
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
apia upolu ws 13.8s 171.8w 1832z 0.70m / 2.3ft 08min
pago pago as 14.3s 170.7w 1812z 1.57m / 5.1ft 04min

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
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
american samoa pago pago 14.3s 170.7w 1759z 29 sep
samoa apia 13.8s 171.8w 1810z 29 sep
niue niue is. 19.0s 170.0w 1822z 29 sep
wallis-futuna wallis is. 13.2s 176.2w 1835z 29 sep
tokelau nukunonu is. 9.2s 171.8w 1844z 29 sep
cook islands pukapuka is. 10.8s 165.9w 1846z 29 sep
rarotonga 21.2s 159.8w 1929z 29 sep
penryn is. 8.9s 157.8w 1954z 29 sep
tonga nukualofa 21.0s 175.2w 1851z 29 sep
tuvalu funafuti is. 7.9s 178.5e 1932z 29 sep
kiribati kanton is. 2.8s 171.7w 1935z 29 sep
flint is. 11.4s 151.8w 2025z 29 sep
malden is. 3.9s 154.9w 2037z 29 sep
christmas is. 2.0n 157.5w 2100z 29 sep
tarawa is. 1.5n 173.0e 2104z 29 sep
kermadec is raoul is. 29.2s 177.9w 1938z 29 sep
fiji suva 18.1s 178.4e 2003z 29 sep
howland-baker howland is. 0.6n 176.6w 2008z 29 sep
jarvis is. Jarvis is. 0.4s 160.1w 2028z 29 sep
new zealand east cape 37.7s 178.5e 2044z 29 sep
gisborne 38.7s 178.0e 2100z 29 sep
north cape 34.4s 173.3e 2112z 29 sep
napier 39.5s 176.9e 2140z 29 sep
wellington 41.3s 174.8e 2150z 29 sep
auckland(e) 36.7s 175.0e 2212z 29 sep
auckland(w) 37.1s 174.2e 2239z 29 sep
lyttelton 43.6s 172.7e 2255z 29 sep
new plymouth 39.1s 174.1e 2317z 29 sep
nelson 41.3s 173.3e 2323z 29 sep
dunedin 45.9s 170.5e 2331z 29 sep
milford sound 44.6s 167.9e 2358z 29 sep
westport 41.8s 171.6e 2359z 29 sep
bluff 46.6s 168.3e 0044z 30 sep
fr. Polynesia papeete 17.5s 149.6w 2045z 29 sep
hiva oa 10.0s 139.0w 2214z 29 sep
rikitea 23.1s 135.0w 2247z 29 sep
palmyra is. Palmyra is. 6.3n 162.4w 2102z 29 sep
vanuatu anatom is. 20.2s 169.9e 2117z 29 sep
esperitu santo 15.1s 167.3e 2123z 29 sep
nauru nauru 0.5s 166.9e 2138z 29 sep
marshall is. Majuro 7.1n 171.4e 2147z 29 sep
kwajalein 8.7n 167.7e 2220z 29 sep
eniwetok 11.4n 162.3e 2309z 29 sep
solomon is. Kirakira 10.4s 161.9e 2155z 29 sep
ghatere 7.8s 159.2e 2227z 29 sep
auki 8.8s 160.6e 2244z 29 sep
honiara 9.3s 160.0e 2244z 29 sep
panggoe 6.9s 157.2e 2245z 29 sep
munda 8.4s 157.2e 2248z 29 sep
falamae 7.4s 155.6e 2304z 29 sep
johnston is. Johnston is. 16.7n 169.5w 2212z 29 sep
new caledonia noumea 22.3s 166.5e 2216z 29 sep
kosrae kosrae is. 5.5n 163.0e 2233z 29 sep
papua new guine kieta 6.1s 155.6e 2303z 29 sep
amun 6.0s 154.7e 2323z 29 sep
rabaul 4.2s 152.3e 2349z 29 sep
lae 6.8s 147.0e 0015z 30 sep
kavieng 2.5s 150.7e 0016z 30 sep
port moresby 9.3s 146.9e 0039z 30 sep
madang 5.2s 145.8e 0041z 30 sep
manus is. 2.0s 147.5e 0050z 30 sep
hawaii nawiliwili 22.0n 159.4w 2311z 29 sep
hilo 19.7n 155.1w 2314z 29 sep
honolulu 21.3n 157.9w 2315z 29 sep
pohnpei pohnpei is. 7.0n 158.2e 2318z 29 sep
wake is. Wake is. 19.3n 166.6e 2322z 29 sep
pitcairn pitcairn is. 25.1s 130.1w 2329z 29 sep
midway is. Midway is. 28.2n 177.4w 2349z 29 sep
chuuk chuuk is. 7.4n 151.8e 0020z 30 sep
australia brisbane 27.2s 153.3e 0036z 30 sep
sydney 33.9s 151.4e 0038z 30 sep

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.
 
That'll teach me to keep my big mouth shut .... :eek:

Although ...

' Officials at the Samoa Meteorology Division said many of those who died were killed by a second wave after they went to gather fish that had been washed up after the first. '

Will people never learn ?
 

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