Thursday, March 10, 2011

Tsunami Warning!

Again.
Seems we got another tsunami warning tonight.
This one from an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan that apparently already did some damage there.
Right now, it's 9:59 local and the warning is in effect until about 12:30AM tomorrow, the Civil Defense sirens just went off.
Time to fill up some water jugs and make some ice!
Not much to see, just keeping tuned to the local news which has crews at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Deep sea buoys have already risen 2 to 3 feet.
First wave, if any, is expected to hit at 2:59 AM.
Waves of 12-15 feet projected to hit O'ahu's North Shore.
This one has potential.
I'll update this post if anything interesting happens.
Mean while you can follow this locally here.

10:10PM
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center dude says he expects a large impact.
Reading from Wake Island expected around 11:00PM HST
Two meter wave now expected for North Shore.

10:52
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center dude says elevated water height of up to 2 meters on the North Shore.
Tourists in Waikiki told to get above the 4th floor.
Traffic out of Waikiki heavy.
Wave update from Wake Island now expected at 11:30PM HST

11:15PM HST
Civil Defense sirens sounding again, expected every hour until warning is cancelled.
Update from Wake Island expected shortly.
2 meter increase in sea level still expected.
Estimated time of first wave 3AM HST
Civil Defense evacuating all coastal areas in tsunami wave zone

11:30PM HST
Local news reporting entire Pacific Basin on tsunami alert, this includes western coast of United States, including Alaska
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says to expect Wake Island update in twenty minutes

12:05PM HST
First wave now expected to hit Kauai at 3:07AM HST
No update yet on Wake Island

12:15AM HST
Civil Defense sirens begin again.
Tsunami warning in effect until 7:00AM HST
No update on Wake Island

1:06AM HST
Mayor of Honolulu announces that access to evacuation zones will close at 2:00AM HST, no one allowed in or out.
It's starting to rain.
National Weather Service reports Midway Island recorded a 52cm rise followed by a four foot drop between waves. No data on second wave.
Newspaper reporting Wake Island wave at 1.5 feet and Saipan wave measured at 2.5 feet.
Models predict North Shore surge at 1-2 meters.

4:35AM HST
Tidal surges observed
3.3 feet on the North Shore, water encroached 50 yards inland
Read more here.

4:45AM HST
Okay, I fell asleep.
Apparently, tidal surges, larger than the last time were observed all over the islands. Five or six cycles now.
The water receded as far as about two hundred feet and surged back inland, reports say as far as 50 yards.
Reports are sketchy as it is still dark and news crews were not allowed in low lying areas until now. There are reports of some damage, though it appears to be small.
Warnings were lifted for Guam.
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reporting that dangerous conditions may still exist.
Damage suspected in Kahului Harbor on Maui, surge detectors bottomed and topped out.
Daylight will bring more information.

5:20AM HST
Seems like the worst is over although Pacific Tsunami Warning Center well, warns of possible wave energy trapped and bouncing between islands.
Information is sporadic due to evacuation of the tsunami zones, more info will become available as crews move in.
The warning has not been cancelled and PTWC does not expect to cancel it for at least a couple of hours.
Kailua got surges of at least a couple of feet, this observed about a mile inland, no word on what happened at the beach. I may try to get out there in the morning, well, later today, and take some pics.
Nothing really crazy but it seems it did do some damage on the other islands, possibly on the North Shore here, mostly to harbors.

I'll tell you, things were sort of tense here, as models predicted larger tidal surges and detectors were well, detecting different things compared to the last warning we got.
The darkness only hightened the drama.
My father lives literally about a hundred feet from Kaneohe Bay, I called to make sure they were moving to high ground.
Sort of reminder that #&!% happens, and it can happen at anytime.
I was worried about our homeless population for most of them camp at the beach parks, the authorities moved them out via bus, etc. and got them to safe ground.
I'm gonna try and get out at first light and take a look around.

8 comments:

Big Oak said...

Be safe!

limom said...

Thanks!
I'm about two miles inland and about 80ft above sea level.
I think I'm okay.
The lack of information from Wake Island and Midway is sort of disconcerting.

Steve A said...

Let others take the gagillions of pictures.

TrevorW�� said...

You take care over there.... It certainly sounds as if the earthquake that caused this was massive..

John Romeo Alpha said...

Take care limom, watching your blog to see what happens...

limom said...

Thanks guys!
My eyeballs were half closed, but I was sort of listening to what was happening.
Sort of.
They caught some surges on beach cams, but resolution wasn't that good and you couldn't really see much.
Happily, it seems nothing much happened.
I hope.

Rat Trap Press said...

I'm glad things turned out okay in your area. It had the potential to be really bad.

limom said...

You ain't kidding!
I was talking about the potential damage with a few folks and we agreed: we got lucky.