PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0540Z 12 MAR 2011
THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
... A WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...
A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
JAPAN / MEXICO / ANTARCTICA / CHILE / ECUADOR /
COLOMBIA / PERU
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 - 0546Z 11 MAR 2011
COORDINATES - 38.3 NORTH 142.4 EAST
DEPTH - 24 KM
LOCATION - NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU JAPAN
MAGNITUDE - 8.9
MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY
GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
TALCAHUANO CL 36.7S 73.1W 0448Z 0.52M / 1.7FT 80MIN
ARICA CL 18.5S 70.3W 0459Z 0.91M / 3.0FT 42MIN
IQUIQUE CL 20.2S 70.1W 0515Z 0.56M / 1.8FT 10MIN
CORRAL CL 39.9S 73.4W 0452Z 0.55M / 1.8FT 36MIN
DART 51406 8.5S 125.0W 2000Z 0.18M / 0.6FT 22MIN
CALDERA CL 27.1S 70.8W 0446Z 1.41M / 4.6FT 16MIN
CALLAO LA-PUNTA PE 12.1S 77.2W 0444Z 1.66M / 5.5FT 26MIN
DART 32401 19.3S 74.7W 0338Z 0.10M / 0.3FT 28MIN
DART 32412 18.0S 86.4W 0158Z 0.09M / 0.3FT 28MIN
COQUIMBO CL 30.0S 71.3W 0438Z 1.46M / 4.8FT 32MIN
ATICO PE 16.2S 73.7W 0405Z 0.33M / 1.1FT 36MIN
SAN FELIX CL 26.3S 80.1W 0407Z 0.35M / 1.2FT 06MIN
MANZANILLO MX 19.1N 104.3W 0117Z 1.45M / 4.8FT 34MIN
CABO SAN LUCAS MX 22.9N 109.9W 1906Z 0.22M / 0.7FT 12MIN
LA LIBERTAD EC 2.2S 80.9W 0239Z 1.23M / 4.0FT 18MIN
DART 32413 7.4S 93.5W 0106Z 0.13M / 0.4FT 18MIN
EASTER CL 27.2S 109.4W 0124Z 0.73M / 2.4FT 06MIN
SANTACRUZ GALAPAGOS 0.7S 90.3W 0038Z 1.77M / 5.8FT 26MIN
JACKSON BAY NZ 44.0S 168.6E 2325Z 0.35M / 1.1FT 46MIN
WAITANGI CHATHAM NZ 43.9S 176.6W 2230Z 0.67M / 2.2FT 54MIN
OWENGA CHATHAM NZ 44.0S 176.4W 0020Z 0.81M / 2.7FT 22MIN
LOTTIN PT NZ 37.6S 178.2E 2209Z 0.33M / 1.1FT 32MIN
NORTH CAPE NZ 34.4S 173.0E 2001Z 0.25M / 0.8FT 34MIN
CHRISTCHURCH NZ 43.6S 172.8E 0016Z 0.27M / 0.9FT 22MIN
ACAJUTLA SV 13.6N 89.8W 0004Z 0.20M / 0.7FT 20MIN
SPRING BAY AU 42.5S 147.9E 2259Z 0.19M / 0.6FT 74MIN
QUEPOS CR 9.4N 84.2W 0001Z 0.18M / 0.6FT 16MIN
SANTA BARBARA CA 34.4N 119.7W 2345Z 0.99M / 3.2FT 14MIN
BALTRA GALAPAGS EC 0.4S 90.3W 2354Z 0.82M / 2.7FT 26MIN
ACAPULCO MX 16.8N 99.9W 2254Z 0.77M / 2.5FT 26MIN
BITUNG ID 0.4N 125.2E 1727Z 0.26M / 0.8FT 26MIN
LANGARA POINT BC 54.2N 133.1W 1539Z 0.52M / 1.7FT 26MIN
RIKITEA PF 23.1S 135.0W 2014Z 0.21M / 0.7FT 30MIN
RANGIROA PF 14.9S 147.7W 1822Z 0.29M / 0.9FT 08MIN
PAPEETE TAHITI 17.5S 149.6W 1822Z 0.39M / 1.3FT 26MIN
SUBIC BAY PH 14.8N 120.3E 1517Z 0.07M / 0.2FT 54MIN
HONIARA SB 9.4S 160.0E 1436Z 0.26M / 0.8FT 50MIN
NUKU HIVA MARQUESAS 8.9S 140.1W 1824Z 1.48M / 4.8FT 14MIN
NUKUALOFA TO 21.1S 175.2W 1751Z 0.37M / 1.2FT 30MIN
RAROTONGA CK 21.2S 159.8W 1813Z 0.29M / 1.0FT 08MIN
WINTER HARBOUR BC 50.7N 128.3W 1505Z 0.47M / 1.5FT 30MIN
FISHING ROCK RAOUL 29.3S 177.9W 1733Z 0.09M / 0.3FT 20MIN
PORT SAN LUIS CA 35.2N 120.8W 1654Z 1.88M / 6.2FT 22MIN
CRESCENT CITY CA 41.7N 124.2W 1657Z 2.02M / 6.6FT 20MIN
VANUATU 17.8S 168.3E 1542Z 0.69M / 2.3FT 22MIN
LUGANVILLE VU 15.5S 167.2E 1537Z 0.54M / 1.8FT 54MIN
LAUTOKA FJ 17.6S 177.4E 1545Z 0.33M / 1.1FT 76MIN
CHARLESTON OR 43.3N 124.3W 1545Z 0.49M / 1.6FT 24MIN
NORTH SPIT HUMBOLDT 40.8N 124.2W 1553Z 0.54M / 1.8FT 26MIN
KAUMALAPAU HAWAII 20.8N 156.9W 1531Z 0.91M / 3.0FT 06MIN
LOMBRUM MANUS IS PG 2.0S 147.4E 1529Z 1.04M / 3.4FT 62MIN
PAGO PAGO AS 14.3S 170.7W 1556Z 0.34M / 1.1FT 16MIN
ARENA COVE CA 38.9N 123.7W 1540Z 0.82M / 2.7FT 22MIN
PORT ORFORD OR 42.7N 124.5W 1534Z 0.52M / 1.7FT 16MIN
MANUS PG 2.0S 147.4E 1425Z 0.93M / 3.1FT 34MIN
HONOLULU OAHU 21.3N 157.9W 1410Z 0.71M / 2.3FT 32MIN
KANTON KI 2.8S 171.7W 1425Z 0.05M / 0.2FT 10MIN
CHRISTMAS KI 2.0N 157.5W 1447Z 0.56M / 1.9FT 52MIN
KAWAIHAE HAWAII 20.0N 155.8W 1413Z 1.22M / 4.0FT 14MIN
HILO HAWAII 19.7N 155.1W 1409Z 1.41M / 4.6FT 36MIN
BETIO TARAWA KI 1.4N 172.9E 1225Z 0.21M / 0.7FT 24MIN
NAURU 0.5S 166.9E 1156Z 0.20M / 0.7FT 24MIN
NAWILIWILI KAUAI 22.0N 159.4W 1343Z 0.76M / 2.5FT 12MIN
DART 51407 19.6N 156.5W 1337Z 0.15M / 0.5FT 14MIN
KAHULUI MAUI 20.9N 156.5W 1327Z 1.74M / 5.7FT 52MIN
BARBERS PT HI 21.3N 158.1W 1308Z 0.70M / 2.3FT 64MIN
TERN FR. FRIGATE US 23.9N 166.3W 1224Z 0.38M / 1.2FT 16MIN
JOHNSTON US 16.7N 169.5W 1206Z 0.20M / 0.7FT 72MIN
DART 52402 11.7N 154.2E 0931Z 0.29M / 0.9FT 22MIN
DART 46403 52.7N 156.9W 1127Z 0.09M / 0.3FT 60MIN
LEGASPI PH 13.1N 123.8E 1116Z 0.25M / 0.8FT 58MIN
KWAJALEIN MH 8.7N 167.7E 1111Z 0.55M / 1.8FT 48MIN
NIKOLSKI AK 52.9N 168.9W 1109Z 0.27M / 0.9FT 64MIN
HANASAKI HOKKAIDO J 43.3N 145.6E 0656Z 1.83M / 6.0FT 24MIN
MIDWAY 28.2N 177.4W 1048Z 1.27M / 4.2FT 12MIN
TOSASHIMIZU SHIKOKU 32.8N 133.0E 0946Z 0.84M / 2.8FT 28MIN
ADAK AK 51.9N 176.6W 1034Z 0.35M / 1.2FT 22MIN
YAP FM 9.5N 138.1E 1013Z 0.15M / 0.5FT 88MIN
DART 21415 50.2N 171.8E 0845Z 0.27M / 0.9FT 52MIN
WAKE US 19.3N 166.6E 0928Z 0.39M / 1.3FT 14MIN
NAHA OKINAWA JP 26.2N 127.7E 0901Z 0.25M / 0.8FT 60MIN
SAIPAN US 15.2N 145.7E 0916Z 0.65M / 2.1FT 30MIN
OMAEZAKI HONSHU JP 34.6N 138.2E 0818Z 1.42M / 4.6FT 56MIN
DART 21419 44.5N 155.7E 0716Z 0.40M / 1.3FT 20MIN
DART 21413 30.5N 152.1E 0659Z 0.76M / 2.5FT 32MIN
DART 21401 42.6N 152.6E 0643Z 0.67M / 2.2FT 40MIN
DART 21418 38.7N 148.7E 0619Z 1.08M / 3.5FT 06MIN
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.
NOTE - DART MEASUREMENTS ARE FROM THE DEEP OCEAN AND THEY
ARE GENERALLY MUCH SMALLER THAN WOULD BE COASTAL
MEASUREMENTS AT SIMILAR LOCATIONS.
EVALUATION
SEA LEVEL READINGS CONFIRM THAT A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED
WHICH COULD CAUSE WIDESPREAD DAMAGE. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS THREAT. THIS CENTER WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT AND
SEVERITY OF THE THREAT.
A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND CAN VARY
SIGNIFICANTLY ALONG A COAST DUE TO LOCAL EFFECTS. THE TIME FROM
ONE TSUNAMI WAVE TO THE NEXT CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO AN HOUR, AND
THE THREAT CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AS MULTIPLE WAVES ARRIVE.
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.
BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ALSO ISSUE TSUNAMI MESSAGES
FOR THIS EVENT TO COUNTRIES IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC AND SOUTH
CHINA SEA REGION. IN CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION... THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.
THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.
