MacGyver
02-27-2010, 02:05 PM
State officials in Hawaii have activated their emergency response plans to prepare for a possible tsunami caused by the massive earthquake in Chile, an official said Saturday.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning -- its highest alert -- for Hawaii, where incoming waves topping out at six feet could cause damage along the coastlines across the island chain. A warning was also in effect for Guam, American Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands.
The first waves were expected to arrive in Hawaii at 11:05 a.m. Saturday (4:05 p.m. EST).
"It's a big concern," said Shelly Ichi****a, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Defense Civil Defense Division. "We're taking this very seriously."
Hilo International Airport on the big island of Hawaii, which is near the southern coast where the tsunami is expected to hit first, has been closed, she said. All crews aboard vessels and on the ground in state ports have been ordered to evacuate, she said. A warning siren sounded at 6 a.m. local time, alerting residents to tune into their local television and radio stations for instructions.
"The evacuation zones are pre-designated in telephone books. We have maps and pre-designated tsunami zones," Ichi****a said. "It's based on historical data showing they are susceptible to tsunamis."
"Six feet is a lot. Tsunamis have a lot of force behind them," Jenifer Rhoades, tsunami program manager for the National Weather Service.
"My best analogy for you is to think of a flash flood coming in with potentially very turbulent water. It could have debris in it. Six feet was some of the inundation heights for the Sumatra event in 2004. It's very significant and dangerous," Rhoades said.
A tsunami advisory -- less urgent than a warning -- has been posted for the U.S. and Canadian west coast and coastal Alaska, Rhoades said. Although there may not be large waves there, the currents can become dangerous, she said.
"We're advising people to move out of the water and off the beach," she said.
About 3,000 people on the big island of Hawaii as well as campers in beach parks in Kawaii have been told to evacuate or move to higher ground, according to Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, a public affairs officer for the state Department of Defense.
Additional areas will be evacuated throughout the day as more information becomes available and the arrival of a tsunami gets closer, he said, adding that the number of people eventually expected to be affected will number in the "tens of thousands."
"Most of the population lives near that coast," Anthony said. "However, that does not necessarily mean they are in a tsunami inundation zone. But we're talking tens of thousands."
The number of people told to move will be determined by readings obtained from buoys between Chile and Hawaii, which will enable experts to estimate the size of any waves, he said.
"There are series of buoys throughout the Pacific and the tsunami warning center can measure wave heights and get a pretty good idea of what those wave heights will be," he said. "A lot of this is contingent on the next couple of buoy readings we get."
Some people will be evacuated, while others may just move to higher ground, he said. For example, residents of high-rise building may just be able to move to higher floors, he said.
In the meantime, some people have started to evacuate voluntarily, he said.
"They just decided to get some provisions, get in their cars and move to higher ground," he said.
This will be the first major test of the tsunami warning system created in the Pacific in the wake of destructive waves after earthquakes in 1960 and 1964, said Roger Bilham, a University of Colorado seismologist.
"This is not going to be a false alarm. This is going to be the real thing. And they really are going to be able to save many lives," Bilham predicted.
Although the earthquake was very large, with an initial recording of 8.8-magnitude, there's no way to know from the size of the quake how large the tsunami will be, said Susan Hough, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
"Not all big subduction-zone quakes are created equal in terms of generating tsunamis. It depends on how much motion there was on the sea floor," Hough said.
A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said officials were "in close contact with" state officials in Hawaii and were "closely monitoring the situation."
A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands.
"The main thing is we want everyone to take this event seriously," said Charles McCreery, director of the Tsunami center.
"We've got a lot of things going for us," McCreery said. "We have a reasonable lead time. The evacuation should all take place during daylight hours, and wave impact should be during daylight hours."
The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile in 1960. The deadly wave that it caused raced across the Pacific and hit the Hilo area of the Big Island, where 61 people were killed.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning -- its highest alert -- for Hawaii, where incoming waves topping out at six feet could cause damage along the coastlines across the island chain. A warning was also in effect for Guam, American Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands.
The first waves were expected to arrive in Hawaii at 11:05 a.m. Saturday (4:05 p.m. EST).
"It's a big concern," said Shelly Ichi****a, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Defense Civil Defense Division. "We're taking this very seriously."
Hilo International Airport on the big island of Hawaii, which is near the southern coast where the tsunami is expected to hit first, has been closed, she said. All crews aboard vessels and on the ground in state ports have been ordered to evacuate, she said. A warning siren sounded at 6 a.m. local time, alerting residents to tune into their local television and radio stations for instructions.
"The evacuation zones are pre-designated in telephone books. We have maps and pre-designated tsunami zones," Ichi****a said. "It's based on historical data showing they are susceptible to tsunamis."
"Six feet is a lot. Tsunamis have a lot of force behind them," Jenifer Rhoades, tsunami program manager for the National Weather Service.
"My best analogy for you is to think of a flash flood coming in with potentially very turbulent water. It could have debris in it. Six feet was some of the inundation heights for the Sumatra event in 2004. It's very significant and dangerous," Rhoades said.
A tsunami advisory -- less urgent than a warning -- has been posted for the U.S. and Canadian west coast and coastal Alaska, Rhoades said. Although there may not be large waves there, the currents can become dangerous, she said.
"We're advising people to move out of the water and off the beach," she said.
About 3,000 people on the big island of Hawaii as well as campers in beach parks in Kawaii have been told to evacuate or move to higher ground, according to Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, a public affairs officer for the state Department of Defense.
Additional areas will be evacuated throughout the day as more information becomes available and the arrival of a tsunami gets closer, he said, adding that the number of people eventually expected to be affected will number in the "tens of thousands."
"Most of the population lives near that coast," Anthony said. "However, that does not necessarily mean they are in a tsunami inundation zone. But we're talking tens of thousands."
The number of people told to move will be determined by readings obtained from buoys between Chile and Hawaii, which will enable experts to estimate the size of any waves, he said.
"There are series of buoys throughout the Pacific and the tsunami warning center can measure wave heights and get a pretty good idea of what those wave heights will be," he said. "A lot of this is contingent on the next couple of buoy readings we get."
Some people will be evacuated, while others may just move to higher ground, he said. For example, residents of high-rise building may just be able to move to higher floors, he said.
In the meantime, some people have started to evacuate voluntarily, he said.
"They just decided to get some provisions, get in their cars and move to higher ground," he said.
This will be the first major test of the tsunami warning system created in the Pacific in the wake of destructive waves after earthquakes in 1960 and 1964, said Roger Bilham, a University of Colorado seismologist.
"This is not going to be a false alarm. This is going to be the real thing. And they really are going to be able to save many lives," Bilham predicted.
Although the earthquake was very large, with an initial recording of 8.8-magnitude, there's no way to know from the size of the quake how large the tsunami will be, said Susan Hough, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
"Not all big subduction-zone quakes are created equal in terms of generating tsunamis. It depends on how much motion there was on the sea floor," Hough said.
A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said officials were "in close contact with" state officials in Hawaii and were "closely monitoring the situation."
A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands.
"The main thing is we want everyone to take this event seriously," said Charles McCreery, director of the Tsunami center.
"We've got a lot of things going for us," McCreery said. "We have a reasonable lead time. The evacuation should all take place during daylight hours, and wave impact should be during daylight hours."
The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile in 1960. The deadly wave that it caused raced across the Pacific and hit the Hilo area of the Big Island, where 61 people were killed.