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| Situation Update No. 2 Ref.no.: TS-20100227-25126-NZL
Situation Update No. 2
On 2010-02-27 at 21:29:32 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Location: New Zealand Chatham Islands Situation: A wave measuring between half-a-metre and a metre has reached the Chatham Islands this morning and New Zealand's entire east coast has been put on tsunami alert. Official tsunami warnings are in place for the entire east coast after a massive earthquake hit Chile overnight. A wave measuring 1.5m has hit Raoul Island in the Kermadecs. Meanwhile, a wave measuring 20cm has reached Gisbourne this morning. The first wave that reached the Chatham Islands, measured 20cm, according to GNS Science, but authorities warn that succeeding waves could be higher. It was followed by a second wave measuring half-a-metre. GNS Science staff said the waves had reached monitoring equipment off the coast of the Chathams and could slow have slowed down by 20 to 30 minutes. The wave could be further slowed by the continental shelf. The Civil Defence Emergency Management office has put a warning in place for the entire east coast of New Zealand and warn that a tsunami between one and three metres could be on its way after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile over night. GNS Geonet project director Ken Gledhill said the it was the fifth largest quake the world had seen since 1900.
Mr Gledhill said the wave that resulted from the quake first reached New Zealand Gledhill at 720am. "Its built now to around 30cms high and it's likely to carry on building for the next few hours," Mr Gledhill said earlier this morning. "There's always big uncertainties and that's the biggest issue for Civil Defence. When you tell them it might be between 1m and 3m at the beach, that's quite a wide range but it's the kind of uncertainty we have to deal with. Add to that uncertainties in timing where the first wave probably won't be the biggest one unless you're quite near the source. "The message is - you probably don't have to go to the beach today. It's probably better if you don't," he said. He said people wanting to see the wave would have to be "significantly above sea level" to be safe. "The problem with these events are ... if you have two parts of the wave train that add together you can suddenly get a bigger wave. that's why it's probably easier to get a better idea when you are in the main beam of the event rather than on the side like we are," Mr Gledhill said. He said for most of the country, the tsunami is a marine threat. "That means if you go to the beach or on a small boat you could have an issue. We are still talking about less than a metre for most of New Zealand, but there's potential for the Chatham Islands and Banks Peninsula for something more than that (1m to 3m)," he said. |  | | | |
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