Eastbay1K

Northwest of IQQ. Tsunami alert for all Chile and also watch for Peru and Ecuador. Not sure yet if alert will go any further.

Eastbay1K

000
wepa40 pheb 020014
tsupac

tsunami bulletin number 002
pacific tsunami warning center/noaa/nws
issued at 0014z 02 apr 2014

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

chile / peru / ecuador

a tsunami watch is in effect for

colombia / panama / costa rica / nicaragua

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 - 2347z 01 apr 2014
coordinates - 19.8 south 70.8 west
depth - 10 km
location - near the coast of northern chile
magnitude - 8.0

measurements or reports of tsunami wave activity

gauge location lat lon time ampl per
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
pisagua cl 19.6s 70.2w 2352z 1.92m / 6.3ft 44min
iquique cl 20.2s 70.1w 2351z 1.70m / 5.6ft 56min

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 iquique 20.2s 289.9e 0002z 02 apr
arica 18.5s 289.7e 0011z 02 apr
antofagasta 23.3s 289.6e 0017z 02 apr
caldera 27.1s 289.2e 0046z 02 apr
coquimbo 29.9s 288.6e 0111z 02 apr
valparaiso 33.0s 288.4e 0135z 02 apr
talcahuano 36.7s 286.9e 0219z 02 apr
corral 39.8s 286.5e 0251z 02 apr
golfo_de_penas 47.1s 285.1e 0403z 02 apr
easter_island 27.1s 250.6e 0532z 02 apr
puerto_montt 41.5s 287.0e 0546z 02 apr
peru mollendo 17.1s 288.0e 0021z 02 apr
san_juan 15.3s 284.8e 0039z 02 apr
la_punta 12.1s 282.8e 0131z 02 apr
talara 4.6s 278.5e 0218z 02 apr
chimbote 9.0s 281.2e 0225z 02 apr
pimental 6.9s 280.0e 0250z 02 apr
ecuador la_libertad 2.2s 278.8e 0239z 02 apr
esmereldas 1.2n 280.2e 0327z 02 apr
baltra_island 0.5s 269.7e 0429z 02 apr
colombia tumaco 1.8n 281.1e 0346z 02 apr
bahia_solano 6.3n 282.6e 0417z 02 apr
buenaventura 3.8n 282.8e 0433z 02 apr
panama puerto_pina 7.4n 282.0e 0427z 02 apr
punta_mala 7.5n 280.0e 0429z 02 apr
punta_burica 8.0n 277.1e 0441z 02 apr
costa rica cabo_matapalo 8.4n 276.7e 0441z 02 apr
puerto_quepos 9.4n 275.8e 0514z 02 apr
cabo_san_elena 10.9n 274.0e 0531z 02 apr
nicaragua san_juan_dl_sur 11.2n 274.1e 0557z 02 apr
puerto_sandino 12.2n 273.2e 0609z 02 apr
corinto 12.5n 272.8e 0609z 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 u.s. National tsunami warning center will issue products
for alaska...british columbia...washington...oregon...california.

obscure2k

Please follow this thread in the FT South America Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

bingocallerb22

Scary stuff. We all know to have an evacuation plan for the family home in NA. Should be the same when we are travelling in SA. In fact, I every once in a while I take a moment to think: what would I do if there is a major earthquake here and now? Where to go? I have disaster plans and preparations even when travelling here. Do I have backup access to money? If the hotel collapses, do I have money on me? Some food? Ways of contacting family? Embassy contact? Etc.

Funny, went through the quake in Peru a couple of weeks back. Everyone ran for the exits, we were the only ones who stood by the pillars marked with “S” designing them as the place to stand during seismicity. Was almost instinctual after having planned for it previously: where are the “S” marked pillars?

JohnnyColombia

Your first point Bingo

The UK had an online system called LOCATE whereby if you were going to be in Bahia Solano, Colombia, you could register that online. So if there were subsequently a natural disaster in said place, Her Maj would know that one of her subjects was there and they would make sure you were OK. This was ended last year by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who cited "Facebook and Twitter" as reasonable alternatives. Now we just have to tweet for assistance or post a picture of a washed away village on Facebook with the comment "I rly h8 it when dis happens"

Secondly. Is there a column anywhere in Peru that does not have a S on it?

Eastbay1K

As I was watching TVN last night (from home in Northern California), and watching scenes of evacuations in coastal locales I've stayed, I was wondering what I'd do without a car in those situations. When I saw LSC, I thought "I've stayed right at the beach there" then thought "Oh I had a car when I stayed there!"

Viajero Perpetuo

Car could be your death trap. What happens is many get into their car and the next thing you know it, you are in a traffic jam and still in the danger zone and maybe even in a location like near a river or canal or associated choke point like a bridge. One can walk quite far inland and up a hill in 25 minutes and that should be weighed with "should I use the car?"

Eastbay1K

That would be true closer to the epicenter, but if one has a few hours' notice, then the car is probably an ok bet. If you have 3 hours, and make it 1km in an hour and a half, then you can leave the car and continue on foot.

FrogProf

I'm bringing 24 students with me to Santiago in May and this most recent terremoto has a few of them worried (not to mention their parents). I'm not quite sure what to say to calm their fears.

Some things that I've thought about:
1) IQQ is approximately 1000 miles north of Santiago - similar to the distance between Fort Worth and Milwaukee. In other words, we won't be very close to one of the areas of greatest geological activity.
2) The majority of earthquake activity in Chile tends to be in the northern third or southern third, not the central third. Right?
3) The buildings we will visit are built to withstand earthquake damage.

Anything I else I should consider mentioning?

Eastbay1K

One of the largest earthquakes in the history of the world hit Chile a few years ago. It was an 8.8. It was approx. an 8.0 in Santiago. Most of the Metro was running in a couple of days. Injuries were limited, and deaths were remarkably low for such a catastrophic event, and IIRC, mostly from the Concepcion tsunami. There was a lot of structural damage, but my initial thoughts after the dust (so to speak) settled, was "I hope we do half as well as Chile did." A 7 point-something on the Hayward fault is going to be a whole lot worse.

Viajero Perpetuo

People as far north of Santiago as Copiapo did not even feel the 8.2 quake. So any further aftershock activity will not be a concern for those in Santiago.

Santiago is not near the coast so no tsunami fears.

But it would be incorrect to claim the central central area is not immune from big quakes. The moderate 1985 quake was offshore near San Antonio, Chile. And seismologists have determined there might be a 300 year megaquake cycle for the Valpo area with the last mega there I believe around 1730.

But no one can predict the day when it will happen. Would the same group hold back from visiting the Pacific NW which is WAY overdue for a mega 9.0+ or the San Francisco or Los Angeles, California areas becuse they are also overdue for a large quake?