[news.yahoo.com]
[www.cnn.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-02-27 16:27 by HighwireC.

Expected tsunami in Hawaii - 3 to 6 feet.

Hardly worth blaring sirens for eh?

Quote
skipstone
Expected tsunami in Hawaii - 3 to 6 feet.

Hardly worth blaring sirens for eh?

I hope, You are right,
but this Tsunami will reach Hawaii in 2 houres:

Hawaii blasts sirens, warns of possible tsunami
By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer Jaymes Song, Associated Press Writer
42 mins ago

EWA BEACH, Hawaii – A tsunami triggered by the Chilean earthquake raced across the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, threatening Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast as well as hundreds of islands from the bottom of the planet to the top.

Sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents to the impending waves, with authorities asking people living near the water to evacuate. On several South Pacific islands hit by a tsunami last fall, police evacuated tens of thousands of residents from the coast.

The first waves in Hawaii are expected to hit shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday (4 p.m. EST; 2100 GMT) and measure roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) at Hilo. Most Pacific Rim nations however did not order evacuations, but advised people in low-lying areas to be on the lookout.

Unlike other tsunamis in recent years, emergency officials along the Pacific have hours to prepare and possibly evacuate residents.

"We've got a lot of things going for us," said Charles McCreery, the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issues warnings to almost every country around the Pacific Rim and to most of the Pacific island states. "We have a reasonable lead time.

"We should be able to alert everyone in harm's way to move out of the evacuation zones," he said.

In Hawaii, boats and people near the coast were being evacuated. Hilo International Airport, located along the coast, was closed. In Honolulu, residents lined up at supermarkets to stock up on water, canned food and batteries. Cars lined up 15 long at several gas stations.

"These are dangerous, dangerous events," said John Cummings, spokesman for the Honolulu Emergency Management Department.

In Tonga, where nine people died in a Sept. 29 tsunami, police and defense forces began evacuating people from low-lying coastal areas as they warned residents that tsunami waves about three feet (one meter) high could wash ashore within three hours.

"I can hear the church bells ringing to alert the people," National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai said. "We will move up to 50,000 people to the interior and away from the coasts."

Waves 6 feet (1.8 meter) above normal hit near Concepcion, Chile shortly after the quake.

On the island of Robinson Crusoe, a huge wave from the tsunami covered half the village of San Juan Batista and three people were missing, said Ivan de la Maza, the superintendent of Chile's principal mainland port, Valparaiso.

A helicopter and a Navy frigate were enroute to the island to assist in the search, he said.

A tsunami warning — the highest alert level — was also in effect for Guam, American Samoa, Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands. An advisory — the lowest level — has been extended to include Oregon, Washington state, parts of Alaska, and coastal British Colombia.

British Columbia is hosting the Winter Olympic Games, but provincial officials said the venues are not under threat.

The White House is keeping close watch on the Chilean quake, which has raised the possibility of a tsunami striking Hawaii. Presidential press secretary Robert Gibbs said the U.S. stands ready to help the Chilean people "in this hour of need."

American Samoa Lt. Gov. Aitofele Sunia activated emergency services and called on residents of shoreline villages to move to higher ground. Police in Samoa issued a nationwide alert to begin coastal evacuations. The tsunami is expected to reach the islands Saturday morning.

In French Polynesia, tsunami waves up to 6 feet (2 meters) high swept ashore, but no damage was immediately reported.

Meanwhile, disaster management officials in Fiji said they have been warned to expect waves of as high as 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) to hit the northern and eastern islands of the archipelago and the nearby Tonga islands.

A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands. Tsunami Center officials said they did not expect the advisory would be upgraded to a warning.

Waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of Saturday's quake. A tsunami wave can travel at up to 600 mph, said Jenifer Rhoades, tsunami program manager at the National Weather Service in Washington, DC.

The sirens in Hawaii will also be sounded again three hours prior to the estimated arrival time.

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

"If you're in an evacuation zone, police or civil defense volunteers would instruct you to evacuate, or instructions will come out over the radio and TV," said Shelly Ichishita, spokeswoman for the state's civil defense.

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.

Some Pacific nations in the warning area were heavily damaged by a tsunami last year.

On Sept. 29, a tsunami spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed 34 people in American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga. Scientists later said that wave was 46 feet (14 meters) high.

Past South American earthquakes have had deadly effects across the Pacific.

A tsunami after a magnitude-9.5 quake that struck Chile in 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded, killed about 140 people in Japan, 61 in Hawaii and 32 in the Philippines.

That tsunami was about 3.3 to 13 feet (one to four meters) in height, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK quoted earthquake experts as saying the tsunami would likely be tens of centimeters (inches) high and reach Japan in about 22 hours.

A tsunami of 28 centimeters (11 inches) was recorded after a magnitude-8.4 earthquake near Chile in 2001.

The Meteorological Agency said it was still investigating the likelihood of a tsunami in Japan and did not issue a formal coastal warning.

Australia, meanwhile, was put on a tsunami watch.

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning Saturday night for a "potential tsunami threat" to New South Wales state, Queensland state, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.

Any potential wave would not hit Australia until Sunday morning local time, it said.

New Zealand officials warned that "non-destructive" tsunami waves of less than three feet could hit the entire east coast of the country's two main islands and its Chatham Islands territory, some 300 miles east of New Zealand.

The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology issued a low-level alert saying people should await further notice of a possible tsunami. It did not recommend evacuations.

Seismologist Fumihiko Imamura, of Japan's Tohoku University, told NHK that residents near ocean shores should not underestimate the power of a tsunami even though they may be generated by quakes on the other side of the ocean.

"There is the possibility that it could reach Japan without losing its strength," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Mark Niesse in Honolulu, Kristen Gelineau in Sydney, Chris Havlik in Phoenix, Ray Lilley in Auckland, New Zealand, Eric Talmadge in Tokyo, Alan Clendenning in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Charmaine Noronha in Toronto contributed to this report.

1½ hour left till tsumani strikes Hawaii, panic on the beaces.
I wouldnt take no chances, having the fatal tsunami from Indian Oceas in mind.
225,000 people died then; I read 543 Swedes died and some 1500 Swedes injured.
Here a picture from a tsunami in hawaii in 1946.
[sv.wikipedia.org]

The report I read said between 3 and 6 feet (Los Angeles Times). Perhaps that was not accurate or it has since changed. Not sure how they can predict how high a tsunami is going to be.

Regardless, people SHOULD be concerned and take evasive action I would think. At least hope. That is, if they know. I bet whatever is going on, if local people see the animals vacating they will pay heed.

They're talking about 10-15 foot waves that could last several hours. The coastal areas of Hawaii are being evacuated. They're taking it very seriously. Condolences to the people of Chile. 8.8 is huge. But it seems like they have pretty good building codes that kept it from being worse.

Hawaii Gov signs disaster declaration


By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer Jaymes Song, Associated Press Writer – 3 mins ago

EWA BEACH, Hawaii – Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has declared a state of emergency as the island chain prepares for possible tsunami damage.

She told a news conference Saturday at the state civil defense center inside Diamond Head Crater that the declaration would allow the release of disaster funds. She says the U.S. Pacific Command is standing by to help.

She says authorities are deciding whether to close wastewater pumping stations on Oahu and Maui to prevent damage from seawater.

Lingle says leprosy patients from the Kalaupapa settlement on Molokai have been moved from an isolated area on a peninsula to higher ground. Helicopters are standing by if they need to be shifted elsewhere.
[news.yahoo.com]


It's perhaps because I live in the northern part or Germany and I know what can happen when people have forgotten to let the sirenes blare:





---

My mom & cousin had to travel tomorrow on sunday to santago from Spain but the airport will be closed at least 72 hours....

I have uncle,aunt and another cousin living there and by lucky they ´re all fine

---------------------------------------------
Shattered !!!
---------------------------------------------

I know this is off subject but in regards to that video and recent events with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita the language has gotten screwed up.

How does water 'overtop' when 'topping' implies..going over the top? Really. Why is that OK? Overtopping? That's redundant. What the @#$%& is with that? "The water underbottomed the gate."ATM machine, PIN number, VIN number. AUGHHH! WHY BOTHER!

So it's going beyond the original prediction of 3-6 feet. I know tsunamis can be that small, like the one in the English Channel that was from the volcano Krakatau/Krakatoa. Hopefully it gets no bigger than any of the waves that all the surfin' dudes ride.

But those are different waves.

Good lord, this weather is so weird. I hope everyone is going to be ok. Or that any storms and tsunamis are the least damaging they can be.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-03-02 11:12 by swiss.

What weather are you talking about? A tsunami has nothing to do with the weather.

Quote
skipstone
What weather are you talking about? A tsunami has nothing to do with the weather.

Weather, Tsunami, both are some act/force of nature ...


---

Tsumani is the result of a geological event. I don't consider it weather as well.

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-03-02 11:13 by swiss.

Live streaming video from a local Hawaii television station:

[www.khon2.com]

I notice that the Hilo local time is 10:37 Saturday morning. Any video reports should be recorded in daylight? I'm not sure of the strike prediction.

20 minutes to calculated hit of Hawaii.
Same time calculated for Australia's east coast.
The Philippines will be hit within 5 - 5½ hours.
Anybody checking on Rochdales link?

Australia is also under warning. Hopefully, the Rockman has a perimeter set-up.

Quote
Back Of My Palm
Anybody checking on Rochdales link?

I tried and computer prompted me to download a version of Windows Media Player prior to what I have and Microsoft VISTA will not allow that. So, it didn't work. I feel so nervous for them.

I view it thru my WMP now.

Claimed discoloration of the water in front of the horizon on live pictures.

Receeding water along the shores.

Opposing conclusions on receeding water: recession apparently due to normal fluctuations in the tidal rhythm.

Quote
swiss
Obviously I'm speaking colloquially, not technically, skipstone.

Well then, obviousy I didn't perceive the colloqialism in the context it was meant since there was a mention of rain.

Oh, I meant to add that there was sloshing in 3 areas of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana this morning from the earthquake.

Chile holds the record, ironically, for the strongest earthquake ever measured: 9.5 in 1960.

Quote
skipstone
Oh, I meant to add that there was sloshing in 3 areas of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana this morning from the earthquake.

What? I was just by the lake, taking pictures of my Firebird.

Didn't see or hear about this!

Tsunami waves reportedly hitting Hawaii right now.

Fox news reports 5.5-foot waves coming in, and could last for hours.
An interview with a vacationer in Hawaii sounded pretty casual about the whole thing.

.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-03-02 11:14 by swiss.

No, it's cool, I understand now. I was just...I guess the focus was this tsunami and I didn't get the thing about rain.

No big.

Edith - the Lake P sloshing occurred from 4 to 4:30AM this morning. Not nearly as bad as the last shake in the lake that screwed up the drawbridge on the Causeway a few years ago.

A lot of hype for what is basically a non-event in Hawaii.

Which is good, of course.