Τσουνάμι απειλεί τη Χάβάη (live)/ Basically this tsunami is pointed right at us (Gerard Fryer)/Tsunami warning downgraded to advisory; coastal evacuees can return home

Tsunami warning downgraded to advisory; coastal evacuees can return home .....Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL  

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• [1] Hawaii in path of tsunami after 7.7 earthquake strikes western Canada(online)

• [2] Das Erdbeben erreichte nach Angaben der US-Erdbebenwarte USGS eine Stärke von 7,7.  

  [3] Tsunami Warning for Hawaii After Canada Quake

  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Emergency sirens sounded around Hawaii late Saturday warning about an oncoming tsunami, after a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Canada.

  Even as many people along Hawaii's coast rushed to higher ground, officials downgraded a tsunami warning to an advisory for southern Alaska and British Columbia. They also issued an advisory for areas of northern California and southern Oregon.
  A small tsunami created by the magnitude 7.7 quake was barely noticeable in Craig, Alaska, where the first wave or surge was recorded Saturday night.
  In Hawaii, Gov. Neil Abercrombie proclaimed an emergency, mobilizing extra safety measures.
  Warning sirens blared while residents drove away from coasts and tourists were evacuated from lower floors of beachside hotels. Incoming bus routes were shut off into Waikiki and police shut down a Halloween block party in Honolulu.
  The center said the first tsunami wave could hit the islands by about 10:30 p.m. local time (1:30 a.m. PDT Sunday).
  At first, officials said the islands weren't in any danger of a tsunami, but they later issued a warning, saying there had been a change in sea readings.
  In Alaska, the wave or surge was recorded at 4 inches, much smaller than forecast, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
  The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit in the Queen Charlotte Islands area, followed by a 5.8-magnitude aftershock several minutes later. The quake was felt in Craig and other southeast Alaska communities, but Zidek said there were no immediate reports of damage.
  The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for coastal areas of southeast Alaska, down the western Canadian coast to the tip of Vancouver Island.
  Later Saturday evening, the warning for those areas was downgraded to an advisory, while a warning was issued for Hawaii. Early Sunday, the advisory was canceled entirely for Alaska.
  In addition, officials issued an advisory for areas from Gualala Point, Calif., about 80 miles northwest of San Francisco, to the Douglas-Lane county line in Oregon, about 10 miles southwest of Florence.
  A tsunami warning means an area is likely to be hit by a wave, while an advisory means there may be strong currents, but that widespread inundation is not expected to occur.
  The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska said it was warning warn everyone with a boat on the water to prepare for a potential tsunami.
  The first wave hit Craig about two hours after the earthquake.
  "It started off where it might be a 3-foot wave, and it kept getting downgraded," Craig Mayor Dennis Watson said. "And the last time we heard, it was less than 1 foot."
  It actually was recorded at 4 inches. Watson said he was downtown on the waterfront, and had his car lights shining on pylons.
  "I didn't even see the surge. I watched the pylons. And the tides came in about four or five inches. The surge would leave a wet spot as it would go back out, and we never did see that," he said.
  There could be subsequent waves in Craig, but an official with the tsunami warning center didn't think it would amount to much.
  The first wave "typically is not the largest but nevertheless we don't expect the maximum wave height to be large," said Bill Knight.
  The state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management activated its emergency operations center and notified officials in southeast Alaska communities.
  Lt. Bernard Auth of the Juneau Command Center said the Coast Guard was also working with local authorities to alert people in coastal towns to take precautions.
  Lucy Jones, a USGS seismologist, said the earthquake likely would not generate a large tsunami.
  "This isn't that big of an earthquake on tsunami scales," she said. "The really big tsunamis are usually up in the high 8s and 9s."
  She said the earthquake occurred along a "fairly long" fault - "a plate 200 kilometers long" in a subduction zone, where one plate slips underneath another. Such quakes lift the sea floor and tend to cause tsunamis, she said.
  In Craig, officials implement an emergency plan, and took fire trucks, ambulances and heavy equipment to higher ground.
  "If nothing else it was a good exercise in determining how well our disaster plan works. I thought it came off quite well, really," he said.
  Watson said he did receive calls from townspeople about the tsunami.
  "There's supposed to be a big Halloween party downtown. People are calling, 'Did the wave hit yet so we can go to the party?'" he said.
  ___
  Oskar Garcia reported from Honolulu. AP reporter Chris Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report. 
  http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/10/28/us/ap-us-tsunami-warning.html?_r=1
  28/10/12

Τσουνάμι απειλεί τη Χάβάη μετά το σεισμό στον Καναδά

Προς τη Χαβάη κατευθύνεται το τσουνάμι που προκάλεσε ο σεισμός των 7,7 βαθμών της κλίμακας Ρίχτερ, στ’ ανοικτά της δυτικής ακτής του Καναδά, ανακοίνωσε το Κέντρο Προειδοποίησης για τσουνάμι στον Ειρηνικό.

Οι κάτοικοι κλήθηκαν να εγκαταλείψουν τις παράκτιες περιοχές, ενώ σειρήνες ηχούν σε όλα τα νησιά της Χαβάης.

Αξιωματούχοι του Κέντρου Προειδοποίησης για Τσουνάμι δήλωσαν ότι αναμένονται κύματα ύψους από ένα ως δύο μέτρα.


Προειδοποίηση για τσουνάμι εξεδόθη και για τις ακτές της καναδικής επαρχίας της Βρετανικής Κολομβίας και της Αλάσκας.
skai gr
28/10/12
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• Τσουνάμι απειλεί τη Χάβάη (live)/ Basically this tsunami is pointed right at us (Gerard Fryer)/Tsunami warning downgraded to advisory; coastal evacuees can return home

• [1] Hawaii in path of tsunami after 7.7 earthquake strikes western Canada

(CNN) -- Sirens blaring across parts of Hawaii urged residents to seek higher ground, as a tsunami -- triggered by a sizable 7.7-magnitude earthquake in western Canada -- barreled toward them.

Waves between 3 and 7 feet are expected to lash the islands beginning about 10:28 p.m. Saturday (4:28 a.m. Sunday ET), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

"Basically this tsunami is pointed right at us," said Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the center.

The impact could last for hours.

"It's not just one wave, it's a succession of waves," Fryer said. "We are recommending coastal evacuation."

Read the latest developments in our live blog

But he noted that the tsunami will not be as significant as the devastating quake and tsunami that killed thousands in Japan in March 2011.

Local television showed images of bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads leading from the coast to inner ground. About 80,000 people live in evacuations zones in the island of Oahu, the island where Honolulu is located.

John Cummings, spokesman for Honolulu Emergency Management, said officials have opened 26 centers for evacuees.

"All islands and all shorelines will be affected when it comes in," Cummings said.

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle urged residents who are already on higher ground to not clog traffic. Officials expressed concerns about emergency vehicles getting by in heavy traffic.

But the tsunami warning came at an unfortunate time -- when thousands of revelers packed streets in Honolulu for the annual Hallowbaloo festival.

Even Hawaiians accustomed to tsunami warnings spared no effort in bracing for the worst.

Honolulu resident Victoria Shioi filled her bathtub with water, set her refrigerator to the coldest setting and gathered candles in case of water or power outages.

"Also backed up my computer and put the external (hard drive) in the waterproof safe," Shioi said.

Basically this tsunami is pointed right at us
(Gerard Fryer)

The tsunami was spawned by an earthquake in western British Columbia, prompting a local tsunami warning and sending some residents toward higher ground.

"A (magnitude) 7.7 is a big, hefty earthquake -- not something you can ignore," Fryer said. "It definitely would have done some damage if it had been under a city."

Instead, the quake struck about 139 kilometers (86 miles) south of Masset on British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands. No major damage was reported.

The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for western British Columbia from Vancouver to the southern panhandle of Alaska.

Canadians as far as Prince Rupert on mainland British Columbia felt the quake.

Tanya Simonds said she felt like her house was "sliding back and forth on mud," but didn't see any damage from the tremor.

Shawn Martin was at a movie theater when the quake struck.

"It just felt like the seats were moving. It felt like someone was kicking your seat," he said. Martin said more than hundred cars headed toward a popular intersection in the city known for its higher ground.

Fryer said he expects Hawaiians to also seek higher ground due to the expected "significant flooding."

"The rest of the Pacific does not have to worry, but Hawaii does," he said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/28/world/americas/canada-earthquake/index.html

28/10/12

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