Categorized | Earthquake, News

Strong 7.8M quake in Chile, Tsunami Warnings for Chile and Peru cancelled


View Earthquakes near Iquique, Chile (4/2/14) in a larger map

Magnitude
7.8 (preliminary)

Event Time
2014-04-03 02:43:15 UTC
2014-04-02 23:43:15 UTC-03:00 at epicenter
2014-04-02 16:43:15 UTC-10:00 Hawaii Standard Time

Location
20.430°S 70.113°W depth=20.0km (12.4mi)

Nearby Cities
23km (14mi) S of Iquique, Chile
184km (114mi) N of Tocopilla, Chile
217km (135mi) S of Arica, Chile
256km (159mi) NNW of Calama, Chile
481km (299mi) SSW of La Paz, Bolivia

No Tsunami Threat for Hawaii

TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER   2
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
516 PM HST WED APR 02 2014

THE EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE IS INCREASED TO 7.8.

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT

THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION IS REQUIRED.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

   ORIGIN TIME - 0443 PM HST 02 APR 2014
   COORDINATES - 20.4 SOUTH   70.1 WEST
   LOCATION    - OFF THE COAST OF NORTHERN CHILE
   MAGNITUDE   - 7.8  MOMENT

EVALUATION

 THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER HAS ISSUED A NON-EXPANDING
 REGIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING FOR A PART OF THE PACIFIC NEAR THE
 EARTHQUAKE. BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA THERE IS NO DESTRUCTIVE
 TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII.

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 003
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0359Z 03 APR 2014

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... TSUNAMI WARNING CANCELLATION ...

THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND/OR WATCH ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER IS NOW CANCELLED FOR

CHILE / 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 -  0243Z 03 APR 2014
COORDINATES -  20.4 SOUTH   70.1 WEST
DEPTH       -   20 KM
LOCATION    -  NEAR THE COAST OF NORTHERN CHILE
MAGNITUDE   -  7.8

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

GAUGE LOCATION        LAT   LON    TIME        AMPL         PER
-------------------  ----- ------  -----  ---------------  -----
PISAGUA CL           19.6S  70.2W  0310Z   0.19M /  0.6FT  12MIN
PATACHE CL           20.8S  70.2W  0301Z   0.69M /  2.2FT  14MIN
IQUIQUE CL           20.2S  70.1W  0302Z   0.74M /  2.4FT  12MIN

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. FOR
THOSE 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.

NO TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS FOR OTHER COASTAL AREAS IN THE PACIFIC
ALTHOUGH SOME OTHER AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING IS NOW CANCELLED FOR ALL AREAS COVERED BY
THIS CENTER.

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE U.S. NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.

USGS: How large does an earthquake have to be to cause a tsunami?

Magnitudes below 6.5
Earthquakes of this magnitude are very unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Magnitudes between 6.5 and 7.5
Earthquakes of this size do not usually produce destructive tsunamis. However, small sea level changes may be observed in the vicinity of the epicenter. Tsunamis capable of producing damage or casualties are rare in this magnitude range but have occurred due to secondary effects such as landslides or submarine slumps.

Magnitudes between 7.6 and 7.8
Earthquakes of this size may produce destructive tsunamis especially near the epicenter; at greater distances small sea level changes may be observed. Tsunamis capable of producing damage at great distances are rare in the magnitude range.

Magnitude 7.9 and greater
Destructive local tsunamis are possible near the epicenter, and significant sea level changes and damage may occur in a broader region.

Note that with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the probability of an aftershock with a magnitude exceeding 7.5 is not negligible. To date, the largest aftershock recorded has been magnitude 7.1 that did not produce a damaging tsunami.

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