Tsunami Warning issued for New Caledonia and Vanuatu

A Pacific Tsunami warning in effect for New Caledonia and Vanutu after a 7.0 earthquake earlier. More information pasted below:

THIS MESSAGE IS ISSUED FOR INFORMATION ONLY IN SUPPORT OF THE
UNESCO/IOC PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION SYSTEM AND IS
MEANT FOR NATIONAL AUTHORITIES IN EACH COUNTRY OF THAT SYSTEM.

NATIONAL AUTHORITIES WILL DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF
ALERT FOR EACH COUNTRY AND MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL OR MORE REFINED
INFORMATION.

THE TSUNAMI FORECAST IS UNCHANGED IN THIS MESSAGE.

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
———————————

* MAGNITUDE 7.0
* ORIGIN TIME 2244 UTC NOV 19 2017
* COORDINATES 21.3 SOUTH 168.5 EAST
* DEPTH 25 KM / 15 MILES
* LOCATION LOYALTY ISLANDS

EVALUATION
———-

* AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.0 OCCURRED IN
THE LOYALTY ISLANDS AT 2244 UTC ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19 2017.

* TSUNAMI WAVES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED.

* BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA… HAZARDOUS TSUNAMI WAVES ARE
FORECAST FOR SOME COASTS.

TSUNAMI THREAT FORECAST
———————–

* TSUNAMI WAVES REACHING 0.3 TO 1 METERS ABOVE THE TIDE LEVEL
ARE POSSIBLE FOR SOME COASTS OF

NEW CALEDONIA.

* TSUNAMI WAVES ARE FORECAST TO BE LESS THAN 0.3 METERS ABOVE
THE TIDE LEVEL FOR THE COASTS OF VANUATU.

* ACTUAL AMPLITUDES AT THE COAST MAY VARY FROM FORECAST
AMPLITUDES DUE TO UNCERTAINTIES IN THE FORECAST AND LOCAL
FEATURES. IN PARTICULAR MAXIMUM TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ON ATOLLS
AND AT LOCATIONS WITH FRINGING OR BARRIER REEFS WILL LIKELY
BE MUCH SMALLER THAN THE FORECAST INDICATES.

* FOR OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS PRODUCT A FORECAST HAS NOT
YET BEEN COMPUTED. THE FORECAST WILL BE EXPANDED IF
NECESSARY IN SUBSEQUENT PRODUCTS.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
——————-

* GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THREATENED COASTAL AREAS
SHOULD TAKE ACTION TO INFORM AND INSTRUCT ANY COASTAL
POPULATIONS AT RISK IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR OWN
EVALUATION… PROCEDURES AND THE LEVEL OF THREAT.

* PERSONS LOCATED IN THREATENED COASTAL AREAS SHOULD STAY ALERT
FOR INFORMATION AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FROM NATIONAL AND
LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

 

ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL
————————–

* ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL -ETA- OF THE INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE
FOR PLACES WITHIN THREATENED REGIONS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION REGION COORDINATES ETA(UTC)
————————————————————
NOUMEA NEW CALEDONIA 22.3S 166.5E 2352 11/19

 

POTENTIAL IMPACTS
—————–

* A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES. THE TIME BETWEEN WAVE CRESTS
CAN VARY FROM 5 MINUTES TO AN HOUR. THE HAZARD MAY PERSIST
FOR MANY HOURS OR LONGER AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE.

* IMPACTS CAN VARY SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ONE SECTION OF COAST TO
THE NEXT DUE TO LOCAL BATHYMETRY AND THE SHAPE AND ELEVATION
OF THE SHORELINE.

* IMPACTS CAN ALSO VARY DEPENDING UPON THE STATE OF THE TIDE AT
THE TIME OF THE MAXIMUM TSUNAMI WAVES.

* PERSONS CAUGHT IN THE WATER OF A TSUNAMI MAY DROWN… BE
CRUSHED BY DEBRIS IN THE WATER… OR BE SWEPT OUT TO SEA.

 

TSUNAMI OBSERVATIONS
——————–

* THE FOLLOWING ARE TSUNAMI WAVE OBSERVATIONS FROM COASTAL
AND/OR DEEP-OCEAN SEA LEVEL GAUGES AT THE INDICATED
LOCATIONS. THE MAXIMUM TSUNAMI HEIGHT IS MEASURED WITH
RESPECT TO THE NORMAL TIDE LEVEL.

GAUGE TIME OF MAXIMUM WAVE
COORDINATES MEASURE TSUNAMI PERIOD
GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON (UTC) HEIGHT (MIN)
————————————————————-
LENAKEL VU 19.5S 169.3E 2309 0.20M/ 0.7FT 06
LIFOU NEW CALEDONIA 20.9S 167.3E 2305 0.19M/ 0.6FT 06
MARE NEW CALEDONIA 21.5S 167.9E 2307 0.25M/ 0.8FT 06

 

NEXT UPDATE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
————————————–

* THE NEXT MESSAGE WILL BE ISSUED IN ONE HOUR… OR SOONER IF
THE SITUATION WARRANTS.

* AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE FROM THE U.S.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT
EARTHQUAKE.USGS.GOV/EARTHQUAKES -ALL LOWER CASE-.

* FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT MAY BE FOUND AT
PTWC.WEATHER.GOV AND AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.

* COASTAL REGIONS OF HAWAII… AMERICAN SAMOA… GUAM… AND
CNMI SHOULD REFER TO PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES
SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE PLACES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT
PTWC.WEATHER.GOV.

* COASTAL REGIONS OF CALIFORNIA… OREGON… WASHINGTON…
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA SHOULD ONLY REFER TO U.S.
NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES THAT CAN BE FOUND
AT NTWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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