BANGKOK, Thailand - A magnitude-8.0 earthquake struck early Thursday near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning was issued for Fiji and New Zealand. The temblor, classified by the USGS as a "great" quake, struck 95 miles south of Neiafu, Tonga, and 1,340 miles north-northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued the tsunami warning but said it was not known whether the quake generated a potentially deadly giant wave.| UPDATE: Looks like no major tsunami this time... |
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 003
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1736Z 03 MAY 2006
THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE PACIFIC BASIN EXCEPT
ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.
... TSUNAMI WARNING CANCELLATION ...
THE TSUNAMI WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR ALL COASTAL AREAS AND ISLANDS
IN THE PACIFIC OUTSIDE OF ALASKA - BRITISH COLOMBIA - WASHINGTON -
OREGON - CALIFORNIA. THOSE AREAS SHOULD REFER TO MESSAGES FROM THE
WEST COAST AND ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER.
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 1527Z 03 MAY 2006
COORDINATES - 19.9 SOUTH 174.2 WEST
LOCATION - TONGA ISLANDS
MAGNITUDE - 7.8
MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY
GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
------------------- ----- ------ ----- ------ -----
PAGO PAGO 14.3S 170.7W 1636Z 0.15M 24MIN
NIUE 19.1S 169.9W 1603Z 0.21M 10MIN
TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT
AMPL - AMPLITUDE IN METERS FROM MIDDLE TO CREST OR MIDDLE
TO TROUGH OR HALF OF THE CREST TO TROUGH
PER - PERIOD OF TIME FROM ONE WAVE CREST TO THE NEXT
EVALUATION
SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY HAVE
BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. FOR
THOSE AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO HOURS
AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT
OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME
THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL
CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE
ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
NO TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS FOR OTHER COASTAL AREAS IN THE PACIFIC
ALTHOUGH SOME OTHER AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING IS CANCELLED.
THIS WILL BE THE FINAL BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.