tsu tsu tsunami

If somebody happens by this idling site, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has a warning out for the Northern Marianas.

Their estimate is about 8:53 Zulu -- about 6:53 this evening. They say its magnitude was 7.9 with no reports of damage or waves... But that's bulletin one.

From Japan I'm hearing 8.8 with large waves and major damage. Check out Earthquake-Report.com. They claim it's the largest quake ever recorded in Japan.

Mo later.

Excerpted from bulletin #9:

SAIPAN US 15.2N 145.7E 0916Z 0.65M / 2.1FT 30MIN

So it looks like 2.1 feet at 7:16 pm

I wonder where the gauge is...

Slow motion tsunami watch

Yesterday's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile gave us time enough for two panic attacks, and I'm not going to the beach today.

A patrol officer announced the first tsunami watch at about ten o'clock last night. Sort of: I saw the lights and heard a marble-mouthfilled underwater voice. But the employees called soon after, then some customers. 'Are you open? Will you be open?'

No irresponsible lout, I pecked my way to the trusty Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The site loaded in my browser more slowly than a government payment, and I soon learned why. A big one. We love lists and this comes in five on the top ten since 1900. (Hawaii was particularly nervous. Number one was from Chile too, I think, and it had a killer tsunami.(Evidently yes, at least it was just confirmed via CNN breaking news overkill.))

Still, the Pacific Ocean covers a third of the world. Chile is in the Southeast, we're in the Northwest. Even using the ballpark figure of commercial jetspeed without a TSA check beforehand, I could count on a good night's sleep before giving it much thought-- though there were early reports of 3-7 foot waves close to the quake.

Three feet in Hilo, Hawaii, the cable networks said at about 10:00 our time (Except CNBC; they were featuring Akio Toyoda falling on his sword before the U.S. Congress.) I should have recorded their boring beach pictures, it would be useful as one of those 'therapeutic' video relaxation programs.

So, at about 1:00 this afternoon I'll be at home. I live in Garapan, but up a hill. Safe enough. My neighbors went crazy when a police car went around again this morning. Massive chatter, I saw people with suitcases and bottles of water. None of my business.

If I had the ambition or energy, I'd head over to Old Man by the Sea or Jeffries Beach and try to grab a photo from a safe height. Hmm... Laulau Bay from the old Chamorro Village might be interesting. Nah, I'll play a computer game.

Shaken, but not stirred

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a teeny (two-tenths of a foot) wave was measured in Honiara, the Solomons about an hour-and-a-half ago following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.

There are no reports of damage from the PTWC or from the United States Geological Survey, which kindly posted this map. The USGS got two reports from the nearby city of Gizo saying there was moderate shaking. Ah, the wonder of the internet.

The PTWC does say, however, that the tsunami "may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter," but "no threat exists for other coastal areas" in the Pacific.

The quake was relatively deep; USGS says 30 km, PTWC 33 km.

UPDATE

Evidently news travels slowly there, but the Solomon Star is reporting that local tsunami may have damaged 500 homes and either the waves or the earthquakes caused casualties. One man injured himself trying to flee to higher ground.

The Washington Post has an Associated Press Report that 2-3 meter waves hit Tetepare and Rendova Islands. According to a dive shop owner, people on the nearby island of Gizo headed for the hills because they remembered a 2007 tsunami.

Tsunami hits American Samoa

I've gotten some reports of a five-foot tsunami hitting Pago Pago, American Samoa.

The warning for the Northern Marianas has been cancelled by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Makes you feel better, doesn't it?

Actually, that's so far south and so far away it's no big thing-- to us.

Locally, though, the U.S. Geologic Survey (link expired) reported a magnitude 8.0 quake at about 3:48 am our time, and if you look at the widget on the bottom left of this page you can see there are a lot of aftershocks greater than 5.0.

I'm off to look for news stories, but the USGS has a nifty page (link expired) where people can report: it sounds like the quake itself was felt as "moderate" in AS.

More: According to Bloomberg.com: Pacific Tsunami Kills at Least Five in Samoa Region After Quake. There are a lot of stories now if you Google it.

Did the earth move for you?

I guess there was a 5.6 earthquake up by Anatahan at 10:06 this morning. I didn't feel a thing in Garapan. Did anyone on Saipan or the other islands notice anything?

My power was off and I was just reading, so you'd think I'd notice.

bigsoxfan was admiring my earthquake widget so I scrolled down to check it out.

The USGS says it was 120 miles NE of Saipan about a marathon deep (26.6 miles)

Follow the link if you want to report your ride. I usually do if there's anything to say. Zero responses so far, so they'd be glad to hear from you.

UPDATE: Reported it anyway. 'Missed it' is as useful as any other answer. Hey, everyone in the Marianas wants to be a scientist. Here's your chance.