Tsunami alert for New Zealand downgraded after massive Chile quake

Civil Defence has downgraded New Zealand's tsunami warning to an advisory.

However, the Ministry warned there was still a likelihood of surges and rapid sea level changes in New Zealand following a massive earthquake in Chile which killed at least 300 people. The surges could continue for up to 24 hours after the initial wave arrivals.

"Wave heights could be larger than what we have currently experienced but within the threat levels and wave height estimates that have been previously forecast," it said in its latest statement.

Surges have been reported at beaches around the country, including in Northland, East Cape, Canterbury, Otago and Chatham Islands.

Strong currents were still expected in harbours and restricted waterways such as estuaries and river mouths while there was still a possibility of surges between one and three metres at the Chatham Islands and Banks Peninsula.

"This represents risks to people in boats and on beaches for coastal communities in the east coast of the North and South Island and particularly Chatham Islands and Banks Peninsula," national Civil Defence said.

Tsunami expert and Canterbury University emeritus professor of coastal studies Bob Kirk said based on the first two tsunamis in Lyttelton harbour today, a third was likely around 5pm, which is high tide.

The first tsunami was "of the order of 2m" in height. If it had hit at high tide it would have caused extensive flooding along the coast, around the Avon-Heathcote estuary, and in river mouths.

"That first wave is not chicken feed at all, that's a big one. If you were to mentally translate that to the. . .same position with the predicted high tide you can see 1m 60 or so of water there that would be over and above the high tide, and that's not trivial.

"They'll (civil defence) be watching this closely. It's a bit of a tense time until midnight tonight," Kirk said.

There was no guarantee the gap between the surges would remain at two hours, he said.

In the May 23, 1960 event, a 5m tsunami at high tide sent waves rushing into the estuary at 25km/h, flipped a cabin cruiser, set yachts adrift and left dinghies on the main road to Sumner.

Northland Civil Defence spokesman Matt Johnson said they were still experiencing "reasonably interesting fluctuations in sea levels and tidal surges" but expert advice suggested the main threat had passed.

They were not concerned about the possibility of high tide adding to the threat of the surges, saying the initial wave action had arrived not long after high tide this morning.

They still advised Northlanders to be cautious.

NZ FAMILY CAUGHT UP IN QUAKE DRAMA

Christchurch man Sean Gosling had a nervous wait as he sought news of his wife and daughter who were near the epicentre of last night's devastating earthquake in Chile.

Chile was rocked by an 8.8 magnitude quake last night which has killed at least 214 people, knocked down buildings and prompted a Pacific-wide tsunami warning.

Evelyn Fabiana Matamala Rojas and Paloma Sefia Gosling, 4, had been in Concepcion, the closest major settlement to the earthquake's epicentre for three weeks visiting Evelyn's family, Mr Gosling said.

The desperately worried father and husband had been frantically trying to get hold of the pair, trying friends, embassies, and any other methods of communication in a bid to try and track them down.

This morning, a friend in northern Chile, who had been given a long list of numbers to try by Mr Gosling, had managed to get hold of Evelyn's father who lives about 20 minutes out of Concepcion.

KEY SAYS NZ READY TO HELP

Prime Minister John Key today expressed sympathy on behalf of New Zealand, saying he was "shocked by the devastation".

"More than 200 people have died, but it's clear from media reports that the toll may rise.

New Zealand's government would priovide assistance to Chile on request, he said.

Source:stuff.co.nz/

Chile won't participate in Closing Ceremonies

Athletes and coaches from Chile are planning to skip the Olympic Closing Ceremonies following a magnitude-8.8 earthquake that has devastated their country.

Team spokesman Luis Alberto Santa Cruz said Saturday morning that the athletes and coaches are trying to get home from Vancouver as soon as possible because of the quake.

Chile has three Alpine skiers representing the country at the Vancouver Games. Noelle Barahona, Maui Gayme and Jorge Mandru are all finished competing, so they won't miss any remaining events.

Santa Cruz says that some of the coaches and athletes have been able to contact family and so far, they have found out that their loved ones are fine.

The quake sent potentially deadly waves across the ocean and a tsunami warning - the highest alert level - was issued for Hawaii.


Source:ctvolympics.ca/

Chile earthquake: Pacific nations brace for tsunami

A collapsed highway near Santiago after an earthquake hit Chile. Photograph: David Lillo/AP

A wide array of Pacific nations, including the US, Australia, the Phillipines to Japan, are bracing for potentially devastating tidal waves after a massive earthquake in Chile triggered a tsunami which is radiating across the ocean.

The quake, with a magnitude of 8.8, has already killed at least 120 people in mainland Chile and prompted the evacuation of coastal areas on Easter Island – famous for its monumental stone statues – as well as Samoa and American Samoa.

Countries across the Asia-Pacific region are readying emergency measures drawn up after the Indian Ocean quake of 2004, with the tsunami expected to hit in the next 24 hours.

Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing Chilean president, declared a "state of catastrophe" in central Chile and said a huge tidal wave had swept into the Juan Fernandez Islands. Local radio stations reported serious damage on the archipelago, which reputedly inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe.

The president-elect, Sebastian Pinera, said more than 120 people had died in the quake, and the toll was rising quickly. Bachelet said there were more than 85 deaths just in the Maule region, at the quake's epicentre.

"We have had a huge earthquake with some aftershocks. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately. Without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths," Bachelet said.

Chile's interior minister, Edmundo Perez Yoma, said: "It has been a devastating earthquake. The death toll will continue rising."

Warnings of tidal waves were issued in 53 other countries. The Pacific tsunami warning centre said the quake had generated a wave that could cause destruction along nearby shores "and could also be a threat to more distant coasts". It issued a tsunami warning for Chile, Peru and Hawaii, while Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica are also on alert.

"Chile probably got the brunt force of the tsunami already. So probably the worst has already happened in Chile," said Victor Sardina, geophysicist at the centre. "The tsunami was pretty big too. We reported some places around 8ft. And it's quite possible it would be higher in other areas."

The centre warned that waves up to 4.8 metres high could hit the coasts of the Hawaiian islands, with the first reaching Hawaii at 9pm GMT. "Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property," the centre said in a bulletin. "All shores are at risk no matter which direction they face."

It said the first waves after a quake were not necessarily the largest, and wave heights were difficult to predict because they can vary significantly along a coast due to the local topography.

Chile's navy said officials had lifted the tsunami warning in southern Chile, local radio reported. The Joint Australian tsunami warning centre warned of a "potential tsunami threat" to the states of New South Wales and Queensland, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.

The quake, which shook buildings as far away as Argentina, was centred 200 miles south-west of Santiago at a depth of 22 miles, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It reported 11 aftershocks, five of them measuring 6.0 or above, in the two and a half hours following the quake. The epicentre was 70 miles from Concepcion, Chile's second largest city, with a population of about 670,000.

The USGS warned that an earthquake of magnitude 8 or above could cause "tremendous damage". The quake that devastated Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, in January was magnitude 7.0.

Santiago's international airport was forced to close, a highway bridge collapsed and rubble from damaged buildings fell on to the streets. Speaking to a local television station in Temuco, one witness said: "Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world."

Chile is at a high risk of earthquakes because it lies on the boundary between the Pacific and South American tectonic plates. According to seismologists, there is usually about one quake of magnitude eight or more a year, and one reaching 8.8 would be expected only every few years.

Dr Brian Baptie, of the British Geological Survey, said: "In global terms this is a very rare quake. Chile has experienced some very big quakes in the past. It was about 124 miles north-east of the largest earthquake ever recorded – 9.5, in 1960 – which resulted in a destructive tsunami that killed many thousands of people around the Pacific."

He said a 1.3-metre tsunami wave was observed at Valparaiso about 20 minutes after the earthquake. "Tsunami waves in the deep ocean travel about the same speed as a jet plane and would take about 15 hours to reach Hawaii and about 20 hours to reach the other side of the Pacific," he said.

Dr David Rothery, senior lecturer at the Open University's department of earth and environmental sciences, said the tsunami was "now radiating away from the epicentre and travelling at several hundred kilometres per hour across the Pacific ocean".

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on 22 May 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless, and caused a tsunami that killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

That tsunami was about one to four metres in height, according to Japan's meteorological agency. It said the tsunami from today's quake was likely to be much smaller.

Source:guardian.co.uk/