URGENT – Tsunami Warning for the Pacific Ocean

Created by val. Last modified on 2010-02-27 09:14:36
Contributors:

Issued by
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0844Z 27 FEB 2010

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 IS IN EFFECT FOR

CHILE / PERU

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR

ECUADOR / COLOMBIA / ANTARCTICA / PANAMA / COSTA RICA

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 -  0634Z 27 FEB 2010
  COORDINATES -  36.1 SOUTH   72.6 WEST
  DEPTH       -  55 KM
  LOCATION    -  NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE
  MAGNITUDE   -  8.8

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

  GAUGE LOCATION        LAT   LON    TIME        AMPL         PER
  -------------------  ----- ------  -----  ---------------  -----
  CORRAL CL            39.9S  73.4W  0739Z   0.90M /  2.9FT  16MIN
  SAN FELIX CL         26.3S  80.1W  0815Z   0.53M /  1.7FT  08MIN
  VALPARAISO CL        33.0S  71.6W  0708Z   1.29M /  4.2FT  20MIN
  TALCAHUANO CL        36.7S  73.4W  0652Z   1.15M /  3.8FT  46MIN

  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
  --------------------------------    ------------    ------------
  CHILE            TALCAHUANO         36.7S  73.1W    0729Z 27 FEB
                   VALPARAISO         33.0S  71.6W    0739Z 27 FEB
                   COQUIMBO           29.9S  71.3W    0801Z 27 FEB
                   CORRAL             39.8S  73.5W    0810Z 27 FEB
                   CALDERA            27.1S  70.8W    0821Z 27 FEB
                   ANTOFAGASTA        23.3S  70.4W    0844Z 27 FEB
                   IQUIQUE            20.2S  70.1W    0911Z 27 FEB
                   ARICA              18.5S  70.3W    0929Z 27 FEB
                   GOLFO DE PENAS     47.1S  74.9W    0934Z 27 FEB
                   PUERTO MONTT       41.5S  73.0W    1052Z 27 FEB
                   EASTER IS.         27.1S 109.4W    1205Z 27 FEB
                   PUNTA ARENAS       53.2S  70.9W    1213Z 27 FEB
                   PUERTO WILLIAMS    54.8S  68.2W    1404Z 27 FEB
  PERU             MOLLENDO           17.1S  72.0W    0936Z 27 FEB
                   SAN JUAN           15.3S  75.2W    0952Z 27 FEB
                   LA PUNTA           12.1S  77.2W    1045Z 27 FEB
                   PIMENTAL            6.9S  80.0W    1114Z 27 FEB
                   TALARA              4.6S  81.5W    1127Z 27 FEB
                   CHIMBOTE            9.0S  78.8W    1132Z 27 FEB
  ECUADOR          LA LIBERTAD         2.2S  81.2W    1202Z 27 FEB
                   ESMERELDAS          1.2N  79.8W    1234Z 27 FEB
                   BALTRA IS.          0.5S  90.3W    1313Z 27 FEB
  COLOMBIA         TUMACO              1.8N  78.9W    1253Z 27 FEB
                   BAHIA SOLANO        6.3N  77.4W    1327Z 27 FEB
                   BUENAVENTURA        3.8N  77.2W    1340Z 27 FEB
  ANTARCTICA       THURSTON IS.       72.0S 100.0W    1312Z 27 FEB
  PANAMA           PUERTO PINA         7.4N  78.1W    1331Z 27 FEB
                   PUNTA MALA          7.5N  79.9W    1334Z 27 FEB
                   PUNTA BURICA        8.0N  82.8W    1340Z 27 FEB
  COSTA RICA       CABO MATAPALO       8.4N  83.3W    1344Z 27 FEB
                   PUERTO QUEPOS       9.4N  84.2W    1417Z 27 FEB

For updated infomations see www.prh.noaa.gov/pr/ptwc