Following is the latest Tsunami Warning message – issued at 8:12 p.m. The first wave is predicted to reach Hawai’i shores at 10:28 p.m.:
BULLETIN TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 4 NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI 812 PM HST SAT OCT 27 2012 TO – CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII SUBJECT – TSUNAMI WARNING SUPPLEMENT A TSUNAMI WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII. AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ORIGIN TIME – 0504 PM HST 27 OCT 2012 COORDINATES – 52.8 NORTH 131.8 WEST LOCATION – QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS REGION MAGNITUDE – 7.7 .
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. NOTE – DART MEASUREMENTS ARE FROM THE DEEP OCEAN AND THEY ARE GENERALLY MUCH SMALLER THAN WOULD BE COASTAL MEASUREMENTS AT SIMILAR LOCATIONS. EVALUATION A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ALONG COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF LONG OCEAN WAVES. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAVE CREST CAN LAST 5 TO 15 MINUTES OR MORE AND EXTENSIVELY FLOOD COASTAL AREAS. THE DANGER CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE AS SUBSEQUENT WAVES ARRIVE. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST. TSUNAMI WAVES EFFICIENTLY WRAP AROUND ISLANDS. ALL SHORES ARE AT RISK NO MATTER WHICH DIRECTION THEY FACE. THE TROUGH OF A TSUNAMI WAVE MAY TEMPORARILY EXPOSE THE SEAFLOOR BUT THE AREA WILL QUICKLY FLOOD AGAIN. EXTREMELY STRONG AND UNUSUAL NEARSHORE CURRENTS CAN ACCOMPANY A TSUNAMI. DEBRIS PICKED UP AND CARRIED BY A TSUNAMI AMPLIFIES ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER. SIMULTANEOUS HIGH TIDES OR HIGH SURF CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE TSUNAMI HAZARD. THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME IN HAWAII OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS 1028 PM HST SAT 27 OCT 2012 MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT. $$
