Look out if your near the Pacific!
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1542Z 03 MAY 2006

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE PACIFIC BASIN EXCEPT
ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

... A TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH ARE IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

FIJI / NEW ZEALAND

FOR ALL OTHER PACIFIC AREAS, THIS MESSAGE IS AN ADVISORY ONLY.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 1527Z 03 MAY 2006
COORDINATES - 19.9 SOUTH 174.2 WEST
LOCATION - TONGA ISLANDS
MAGNITUDE - 8.1

EVALUATION

IT IS NOT KNOWN THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. THIS WARNING IS
BASED ONLY ON THE EARTHQUAKE EVALUATION. AN EARTHQUAKE OF THIS
SIZE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THAT CAN
STRIKE COASTLINES NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN MINUTES AND MORE
DISTANT COASTLINES WITHIN HOURS. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS POSSIBILITY. THIS CENTER
WILL MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA FROM GAUGES NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE TO
DETERMINE IF A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED AND ESTIMATE THE SEVERITY OF
THE THREAT.

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
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
FIJI SUVA 18.1S 178.4E 1713Z 03 MAY
NEW ZEALAND GISBORNE 38.1S 176.4E 1821Z 03 MAY
EAST CAPE 36.2S 175.1E 1854Z 03 MAY
LYTTELTON 43.6S 172.7E 2005Z 03 MAY
NEW PLYMOUTH 39.1S 174.1E 2027Z 03 MAY
DUNEDIN 45.9S 170.5E 2040Z 03 MAY
MILFORD SOUND 44.6S 167.9E 2108Z 03 MAY
WESTPORT 41.8S 171.6E 2108Z 03 MAY
BLUFF 46.6S 168.3E 2154Z 03 MAY

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 BULLETINS
FOR ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

Not much land protecting the west coast of the USA from a potential tsunami. Only Distance. An 8.1 Quake has the potential for bigger damage then the one that hit southeast Asia. But by the time it would have hit the west coast of the USA, the tsunami may well have "run out of steam". Thanks for the info Glenn!

On a related note, just yesterday Washington State Tested their Tsunami and Volcano Lahar Warning Systems. A Lahar is a "Mudslide" caused by volcanoes, snow melts in an eruption and scoops up everything in its path as Mud. If anyone remembers the footage of the Mt. St. Helens Eruption, a large river of mud, timber and even a few houses flowed down the toutle river nearly taking out the I-5 Bridge. The volcano being watched now is Mt. Rainier. Bigger mountain with much closer proximity to high population centers and the potential for MUCH MUCH more damage then Mt. St. Helens.

Wow.....that's pretty scary stuff! :eek:

Thanks for the info, Glenn!

The warning was lifted a short while ago.

They're safe. :)

Wow, that must be so scary. I'm glad that it was lifted. Thanks Glenn for the warning :)