Tsunami travelling across the Pacific

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

An 8.8 earthquake (holy shit) in Chile has generated a tsunami, according to the USGS:

[quote]
A tsunami has been generated that could potentially impact the U.S. west coast, British Columbia, and Alaska. The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center is investigating the event to determine the level of danger. More information will be issued as it becomes available.

Max measured height at impact in Chile is 4.2 feet, but if it’s moving east it may grow.

Pacific dopers, do consider an escape route.

And from the sounds of it, the earthquake could have caused serious loss of life in Chile. estilicon, apparently it was felt in Argentina - did you notice anything?

2

Is there any “dope” on this massive earthquake

3

Oh holy shit. One of my fears of staying on the coast is a tsunami coming in the middle of the night. Thankfully it looks like the wave, if there is one, will reach here some time during the afternoon at about 2:30 PM.

4

I am on the coast of Alaska in a bay that would magnify the impact of a tsunami.

Fuck earthquakes are scary.

5

The ground shook, take that to the bank. Its probably a little too early in the morning for the info you are looking for. I’d expect more info come day light.

6

At 8.8 on the Richter Scale( although I prefer the more valuable “Ricker” Scale, which measures the bowel relieving capacity of an experience!), this quake was almost a tenth less powerful than the biggest one they’ve ever had, which occured in 1960. Those who experienced that probably didn’t even notice it.

7

That’s such a daft thing to say.

8

8.8?, that’s a biggie.
So far I have only heard of few deaths, I think the Chilean president said 6? regrettable as those deaths are it’s much better than could had been expected from such a huge earthquake. Let’s hope it stays in such low numbers.

I’m off to the Andaman Sea tomorrow, I don’t want to hear about tsunamis while there.

9

Hawaii and Japan are under tsunami warning.

If anything hits Hawaii, it’ll be in about 7 hours.

10

The Times is currently saying 52. :frowning:

11

You have to remember an earthquakes strength must be measured in proportion to the population density and the buildings stability.

Earthquakes are a “way of life” in Chile so the buildings are built a lot better than Haiti, where many people were living in shacks and huts made of plywood.

I love the way the news media is playing up how the world is about to end. Better safe than sorry, I guess. But I love the way they play up the “there’s no danger but there COULD be,” effect

MSNBC says the “wave” will hit Hawaii at 11:19am (Local Hawaii time)

12

78 dead so far. The epicenter was near one of their largest cities. Multiple aftershocks in the couple hours after the quake, some over 6.0 magnitude; buildings all over are destroyed. Tsunami got set off, and there are warnings all over that side of the planet, as far away as Russia. Major damage to the airport’s passenger terminal. Traffic lights are out all over.

13

Full revalations can only come aftr the sun is up.

14

Tsunami warnings in Hawaii and elsewhere.

15

Easter Island must be rather vulnerable. CNN hasn’t mentioned them that I’ve heard.

16

I live Hawaii… civil defense alarms will be going off statewide at 6AM, per news sources.

I was prepared a few hours ago and live 1,000+ up on a hill, so I’m not too worried. Have some friends coming here also.

The grocery stores were packed when I was shopping 3 hours ago (a little past 1AM HST). Feel bad for anyone showing up late… those lines wrap beyond the distance of an entire aisle.

Be safe everyone. This could be the real deal. Be ready.

Best wishes to everyone in Chile.

17

They felt the quake in Buenos Aires 700 miles away. Here’s a tsunami travel time map

Article from Honolulu;
Hawaii Under Tsunami Warning After Massive Chile Quake

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587588,00.html

EWA BEACH, Hawaii — A tsunami warning was in effect for Hawaii Saturday following a massive earthquake that struck central Chile.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also issued a tsunami advisory for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands.

The first waves were expected to arrive in Hawaii at 11:19 a.m. Saturday (4:19 p.m. EST).

The center said a tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the Hawaii. It said a tsunami in California and Alaska was possible.

The Ewa Beach, Hawaii-based center called for “urgent action to protect lives and property” in Hawaii, which is among 53 nations and territories subject to tsunami warnings.

“The main thing is we want everyone to take this event seriously,” said Charles McCreery, director of the center.

McCreery said he didn’t know how big the waves will be, but he expected them to be the largest to hit Hawaii since 1964.

If coastal areas are evacuated, visitors in Waikiki would be moved to higher floors in their hotels, rather than moved out of the tourist district, which could cause gridlock.

“We’ve got a lot of things going for us,” McCreery said. "We have a reasonable lead time. The evacuation should all take place during daylight hours, and wave impact should be during daylight hours.

“We should be able to alert everyone in harm’s way to move out of the evacuation zones.”

Barry Hirschon, also of the Tsunami center, said the advisory for the California coast and parts of Alaska was the agency’s lowest level alert.

“It’s a heads up that there’s been a tsunami event and it could affect the coasts later,” Hirschon told CNN. “I don’t think it will be updated to a warning.”

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile in 1960. The deadly wave that it caused raced across the Pacific and hit the Hilo area of the Big Island, where 61 people were killed.

Click for coverage from KHON-TV in Honolulu.
http://www.khon2.com/default.aspx

Click here for updates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/

18

How much damage can a wave of lady finger biscuits dipped in espresso , layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, mascarpone, and sugar, and topped with cocoa, possibly do?

19

So it’s (currently) estimated we’ll be greeted with a 12FT tsunami, or ‘surge’.

Boy’o’boy this is going to be interesting.

20

Here is an interesting NOAA page:

Deep-ocean Assesment and Tracking of Tsunamis