WCATWC Tsunami Advisory - TW

WEAK51 PAAQ 272147
TSUAK1

BULLETIN
PUBLIC TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 16
NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK
147 PM PST SAT FEB 27 2010

...A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA - OREGON - WASHINGTON - BRITISH
COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO
ATTU ALASKA...

A TSUNAMI ADVISORY MEANS THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR
THE WATER IS IMMINENT OR EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD
INUNDATION IS NOT EXPECTED FOR AREAS UNDER AN ADVISORY.
CURRENTS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO SWIMMERS... BOATS... AND COASTAL
STRUCTURES AND MAY CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE
INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.

AT 1034 PM PACIFIC STANDARD TIME ON FEBRUARY 26 AN EARTHQUAKE WITH
PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE 8.8 OCCURRED
NEAR THE COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE.
THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS GENERATED A TSUNAMI WHICH COULD CAUSE DAMAGE
TO REGIONS IN A WARNING OR ADVISORY.
ESTIMATED TSUNAMI ARRIVAL TIMES AND MAPS ALONG WITH SAFETY RULES
AND OTHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB SITE
WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.

A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN OBSERVED AT THE FOLLOWING SITES

LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL
------------------------ ----- ------ ------- -----------
SANTA MONICA CA 34.0N 118.5W 2021UTC 0.66M/2.2FT
SANTA BARBARA CA 34.4N 119.7W 2029UTC 0.43M/1.4FT
MONTEREY HARBOR CA 36.6N 121.9W 2031UTC 0.28M/0.9FT
LOS ANGELES CA 33.7N 118.3W 2015UTC 0.41M/1.3FT
LA JOLLA CA 32.9N 117.3W 2048UTC 0.34M/1.1FT
ARENA COVE CA 38.9N 123.7W 2046UTC 0.35M/1.2FT
SAN DIEGO CA0 32.7N 117.2W 2014UTC 0.42M/1.4FT
THE TSUNAMI IS NOW IMPACTING THE U.S. CALIFORNIA COAST AND HAS BEEN
OBSERVED ON SEVERAL TIDE GAGES. REPORTS INDICATE THAT
NAVIGATIONAL BUOYS IN VENTURA HARBOR HAVE BEEN DAMAGED. THE
LARGEST OBSERVED TIDE GAGE READING WAS RECORDED IN SANTA MONICA,
CA. THE TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND BE DANGEROUS
FOR THE NEXT TWO TO FOUR HOURS.

TIME - TIME OF MEASUREMENT
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ARE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).

TSUNAMIS CAN BE DANGEROUS WAVES THAT ARE NOT SURVIVABLE. WAVE
HEIGHTS ARE AMPLIFIED BY IRREGULAR SHORELINE AND ARE DIFFICULT TO
FORECAST. TSUNAMIS OFTEN APPEAR AS A STRONG SURGE AND MAY BE
PRECEDED BY A RECEDING WATER LEVEL. MARINERS IN WATER DEEPER
THAN 600 FEET SHOULD NOT BE AFFECTED BY A TSUNAMI. WAVE HEIGHTS
WILL INCREASE RAPIDLY AS WATER SHALLOWS. TSUNAMIS ARE A SERIES OF
OCEAN WAVES WHICH CAN BE DANGEROUS FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE
INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL. DO NOT RETURN TO EVACUATED AREAS UNTIL AN
ALL CLEAR IS GIVEN BY LOCAL CIVIL AUTHORITIES.

THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER IN EWA BEACH HAWAII WILL ISSUE
MESSAGES FOR HAWAII AND OTHER AREAS OF THE PACIFIC OUTSIDE
CALIFORNIA/ OREGON/ WASHINGTON/ BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA.

THIS MESSAGE WILL BE UPDATED IN 60 MINUTES OR SOONER IF
THE SITUATION WARRANTS. THE TSUNAMI MESSAGE WILL REMAIN
IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION STAY TUNED
TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO... YOUR LOCAL TV OR RADIO STATIONS... OR SEE
THE WEB SITE WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.

$$