2010 Chilean earthquake

February 27, 2010 12:15 AM

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile at 0634 UTC (3:34 am Chilean time) tonight -- the strongest since the 1960 earthquake which sent a tsunami across the Pacific, yet just short of the 9.3 figure recorded in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Tsunami warnings are now up for Hawaii for Saturday.
posted by crapmatic (143 comments total)

Japan too.
posted by amyms at 12:24 AM on February 27, 2010

Hmm, those numbers get so big, so fast, that 'just short' isn't a very accurate headline. I don't know the math, but I think an 8.8 would be about a quarter the size of a 9.2.
posted by Malor at 12:37 AM on February 27, 2010 [13 favorites]

I'm hoping by the time I wake up tomorrow morning, the news will be good. If it isn't, I'm glad that places like Hawaii and Japan likely have a better support infrastructure to deal with a crisis like this than Indonesia, and that the tsunami will likely be on a smaller scale.

I don't know anyone who has been affected by any of the string of recent crises, but still feel compassion towards those who may be involved in some way and will be watching how this unfolds and breathing a sigh of relief if it turns out to be a false alarm. Maybe these feelings come from some sense of membership to the human civilization, one where we are all connected, or maybe just from imagining what it must be like to be in their shoes, but I'm sure many here feel the same way.

It would take 14 and a half hours for a tsunami to reach Hawaii.
I'm willing to bet we'll hear what's going to happen before then. See you in under 14 hours, news outlets.
posted by battlebison at 12:42 AM on February 27, 2010

I'm impressed by the sangfroid of the people interviewed in the first link:

Alessandro Perez, who is staying at the Santiago Marriott Hotel, reported shattered windows, but there was no structural damage. No one at the hotel was injured, he said.

Anita Herrera, who works at the Hotel Kennedy in Santiago, said electricity was knocked out at that hotel and guests were nervous.

"Our hotel is built for this," she said. "In Chile, this happens many times."

That is a massive earthquake, and only suffering shattered windows is an incredibly good outcome. Of course, it's probably not quite so good in less affluent areas. Here's hoping that things go well in Chile. Thanks for the timely post, crapmatic.
posted by breath at 12:48 AM on February 27, 2010

Malor,

I'm pretty sure it's actually more like about a fifteenth.
posted by floam at 12:51 AM on February 27, 2010

Is there any way to know in <14 hours if there's a Tsunami en route?
posted by effugas at 12:51 AM on February 27, 2010

^109.3/_10^8.8 is 3.16 so its about one-third the power of the Sumatra-Andaman event.

and its a subduction zone located close to the coast. (not actually submerged, however)

a tsunami is likely.
posted by dongolier at 12:55 AM on February 27, 2010 [4 favorites]

Just downgraded to 8.6 . They say we would get any possible tsunami at 11:19 am HST Saturday. We will know how to plan in about an hour when whatever wave there is his a buoy off the coast of Peru. There will then be an eleven hour planning window. No crying wolf, but vigilance is called for.
posted by scottymac at 12:58 AM on February 27, 2010

dongolier: I don't think it's that simple.
posted by floam at 1:01 AM on February 27, 2010

Hmm, those numbers get so big, so fast, that 'just short' isn't a very accurate headline. I don't know the math, but I think an 8.8 would be about a quarter the size of a 9.2.

Pretty close, the Richter scale is logarithmic in base 10, so when you say 8 or 9, you're saying 10^8 or 10^9. 10^9.3 / 10^8.8 is about 3, so you're not far off. Ironically - the point of discussing things in a log scale is to be able to rationally compare widely varying numbers. In the grand scheme of earthquakes, 8.8 and 9.3 really aren't much different but if someone read you off the measured wave amplitude for each you might think 8.8 wasn't much to worry about (Which it is, and I hope all is well in Chile tonight.)

/nerdrage
posted by StrangerInAStrainedLand at 1:03 AM on February 27, 2010 [3 favorites]

from 20mins ago:

SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY HAVE
BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER AND
COULD ALSO BE A THREAT TO MORE DISTANT COASTS. AUTHORITIES SHOULD
TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS POSSIBILITY. THIS
CENTER WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA TO DETERMINE THE
EXTENT AND SEVERITY OF THE THREAT.

FOR ALL 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.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS
WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

. . .

from Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
posted by dongolier at 1:04 AM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

OK, I'm the bozo here thinking the absolute amount of energy is the important bit in comparing strength. Carry on.
posted by floam at 1:04 AM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

In the meantime I'll be sending my thoughts and hopes to the Chileans.
posted by scottymac at 1:15 AM on February 27, 2010

I hope Chile is okay, and I hope like hell Hawai'i and Japan (or anywhere else) don't get smashed by a tsunami.
posted by bwg at 1:21 AM on February 27, 2010

IOK, I'm the bozo here thinking the absolute amount of energy is the important bit in comparing strength. Carry on.

It's the fault of shoddy American public schools, of which I am a product, propagating the myth that the Richter scale is still in use. Why didn't anyone tell me that business is now done in base 31.6?!
posted by StrangerInAStrainedLand at 1:21 AM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

Well, at least we're dealing with a vaguely similar position to the 1960 earthquake, thus a somewhat common wave train pattern, and a lesser magnitude. However I am pretty concerned about those islands closer to Chile -- Pitcairn, Tahiti, Galapagos, etc. I wonder if there are any Twitterers, bloggers, beach webcams, or anything like that we can keep tabs on.

USGS is still showing 8.8. I don't see any 8.6; maybe those are coming from the older initial reports.
posted by crapmatic at 1:53 AM on February 27, 2010

Sitting here on Kauai, south shore (ie: pretty much in harm's way, if indeed harm is coming our way), watching the Olympics (on delay) with occasional local NEWS interrupts . According to an "Expert" from the Tsunami Warning Center, we're going to know as early as 12:30AM local time (roughly fifteen minutes) whether or not there is cause for local concern at which point we would go from TSUNAMI ADVISORY to TSUNAMI WATCH.

Just filled the bathtub with water and put the Ipod on charge.
posted by philip-random at 2:14 AM on February 27, 2010

Tsunamis: Know what to do!
posted by philip-random at 2:34 AM on February 27, 2010

Wow, phillip-random I'm on Omao, just outside Koloa. Just stopped in to see if MeFi had anything about this. Good to know someone is awake and on top of this . . . I'm off to check more local news sites to see what's up.
posted by kaiseki at 2:40 AM on February 27, 2010

DART will probably be the thing to look at. The tsunami just passed deep-water buoy "32412" (in 4 km of water) and showed about a gradual 1-foot rise over 30-40 minutes. From what I'm Googling this does not seem particularly significant, though I'll leave that to the experts.
posted by crapmatic at 2:42 AM on February 27, 2010

Yeah, just waiting on the Expert, apparently due to report in next ten or fifteen minutes.

One key bit of info. If you are concerned about being in harm's way, grab your local Hawaiian Telecom Yellow Pages and flip it open to the DISASTER PREPAREDNESS GUIDE (near the front of mine, about 30 pages in, edges marked in YELLOW). A few pages into the guide, you'll find various maps of all the relevant coastal areas of your island which clarify which spots are potential Evacuation areas (basically anything from Sea Level to 100 feet).

For the record, even though I'm in Poipu and can hear the waves as I type this, I'm not in an evacuation area.
posted by philip-random at 2:52 AM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm not in an evacuation area either, but may wind up hosting some friends who are.
posted by scottymac at 2:55 AM on February 27, 2010

News just came in. Official Tsunami WARNING in effect for ALL COASTLINES OF ALL HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. I guess this means there is a wave on its way, due to arrive in about 10 hours, fifteen minutes (11:19 AM).

I'm assuming it would hit the Big Island first; no idea how much later Kauai would get it.

Still, if you're above 100 feet, you're probably not in any great danger ... based on info above.
posted by philip-random at 3:00 AM on February 27, 2010

Think I'll get some sleep now. Tomorrow promises to be weird if nothing else.
posted by philip-random at 3:02 AM on February 27, 2010

California coastline under advisory now:

A Tsunami Advisory is in effect which includes the coastal areas of California from the California-Mexico border to the Oregon-California border.

A Tsunami Advisory is in effect which includes the coastal areas of Alaska from Kodiak, Alaska to Attu, Alaska.

This message is for Information Only for coastal areas of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska from the Oregon-California border to Kodiak, Alaska.

posted by Rhomboid at 3:13 AM on February 27, 2010

Hawaiian clarifications. "Expert" just spoke on TV.

1. Tsunami will likely be more than one wave; could be hours worth of them (an all day event)

2. STAY AWAY FROM THE SHORE; this will not be anything like normal surf waves

3. ALL HAWAIIAN SHORES (north-south-east-west coasts of all islands) are potential danger zones

4. This will be nowhere near as severe as what happened in Thailand/Indonesia a few years back

5. Anything over 30 feet above sea level should be safe (except perhaps certain bays)


... and now I will sleep.
posted by philip-random at 3:27 AM on February 27, 2010

Thanks for the updates on Hawai'i; concerned of course about the crowded beaches, especially in Waikiki, and hoping the waves don't scour away Waikiki beach.
posted by bwg at 3:38 AM on February 27, 2010

Spare a thought for our Chilean members, of whom we have, I believe, half a dozen.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:02 AM on February 27, 2010

Is it appropriate to say "good luck" to those people who may be affected? I never know what the correct thing to do in a situation like this is.
posted by Solomon at 4:12 AM on February 27, 2010

From the Wiki on moment magnitude scale floam linked to: Magnitude scales differ from earthquake intensity, which is the perceptible moving, shaking, and local damages experienced during a quake. The shaking intensity at a given spot depends on many factors, such as soil types, soil sublayers, depth, type of displacement, and range from the epicenter (not counting the complications of building engineering and architectural factors). Rather, they are used to estimate only the total energy released by the quake. Hoping for no serious problems for anyone anywhere.
posted by Daddy-O at 4:22 AM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

My understanding is that Chilean Internet is down...
posted by effugas at 4:24 AM on February 27, 2010

Here in Japan, they're saying the first waves of the tsunami should arrive at 13:00 on the 28th and be about 1 meter tall, so East Asia shouldn't be facing any major problems.

This earthquake is apparently 1/20th the strength of the 1960 Chilean earthquake, which caused 10+ meter tall waves and killed 142 here in Japan (not to mention the thousands that died in Chile and elsewhere).

Here's hoping that there's nowhere near the scale of damage as there was in Haiti.
posted by armage at 4:44 AM on February 27, 2010

Easter Island will likely be hit first, in that case, if it hasn't already. Here's to wishing Rapa Nui and the Moai well. To the high ground!
posted by Azaadistani at 4:48 AM on February 27, 2010

I managed to check a Chilean news website, but it works iffy, now I can't get back into one of the articles I read, it's this newsportal if you want to try. Apparently they say only 78 deaths so far, uncertain on damages but they might be serious and disaster zones have been declared by the government. Huge waves reported on a few areas near the earthquake's origin, and also on the Juan Fernandez islands.
posted by Iosephus at 5:20 AM on February 27, 2010

Also: the BBC News website has already started covering this in detail, so I guess we can get a steady news update from now on. From the footage, Santiago Intl. Airport took a good smacking too.
posted by Iosephus at 5:53 AM on February 27, 2010

Live stream of Chilean TV news, working fine right now:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tv-de-chile
posted by fourcheesemac at 6:06 AM on February 27, 2010

Not to worry, I'm saving my pennies for a seat on one of those arks they're building in the Himilayas. (Wait a minute... what do you mean the price is in Euros?)
posted by localroger at 6:22 AM on February 27, 2010

I'm in Santiago, Chile. No great damage in my area, Providencia, but it's fairly upscale and newish concrete buildings.
I'm an architect, we build for this kind of stuff around here, which is why this isn't a bigger disaster.
Concepción's a mess, though, closer to the epicenter.
Anybody needing info or help contacting somebody down here let me know via me-mail or in this thread.
posted by signal at 6:23 AM on February 27, 2010 [25 favorites]

Minor stuff: my apartment is full of plaster cracks, reminds you that buildings are elastic (fortunately). Will need to check later for structural damage, I think.
The lights were out until a short while ago, everybody was down at a local cafe that had power watching TV, drinking hot chocolate. There's glass in the street from broken windows. My cat is still in shock.
posted by signal at 6:26 AM on February 27, 2010

82 official dead, and lots more trapped, missing, etc.
posted by signal at 6:43 AM on February 27, 2010

Glad to hear you're okay, signal.
posted by sugarfish at 6:43 AM on February 27, 2010 [3 favorites]

Thanks for the info, signal. Stay safe.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:43 AM on February 27, 2010

Here is a very scary and dramatic map of tsunami energy predictions from NOAA.

(Glad to hear that you are OK, signal. Keep safe.)
posted by gemmy at 6:53 AM on February 27, 2010 [3 favorites]

brother in law is being evacuated to higher ground from Oahu coastline
posted by any major dude at 7:09 AM on February 27, 2010

Here is a very scary and dramatic map of tsunami energy predictions from NOAA.

Thanks for the map, Gemmy. Anyone aboard who is expert enough to interpret this map? I realize red=high energy, but my armchair-scientist brain thinks energy probably isn't the only factor to consider.

Be safe, Signal.
posted by The Potate at 7:22 AM on February 27, 2010

You may say good luck.
posted by thejoshu at 7:23 AM on February 27, 2010

Here is a very scary and dramatic map of tsunami energy predictions from NOAA.

Excellent map, though I'd caution people that this is just the amplitude over open ocean and doesn't depict any shoaling, runup, etc along the coasts.
posted by crapmatic at 7:27 AM on February 27, 2010

Just to clarify my question: I'm wondering about this because, from this map, it appears the Aleutian Islands, Russia and the U.S. Pacific Coast (among other places) have red along the coasts. It doesn't appear that different to Hawaii, but Hawaii is getting "warnings" where these other places are getting "advisories."
posted by The Potate at 7:29 AM on February 27, 2010

Streaming Hawai'i online tsunami information: - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hitsunami

I live a block from an East-facing beach; am evacuating now. Heard neighbors packing and leaving a while ago (it is 5:30 am here now). Friends in the neighborhood all calling and watching out for each other.

All beach parks are closed; boats are heading out to sea; the sirens will sound at 6 am. The worst case scenario is no water/electricity for some time afterward. Most people here are well prepared - Waikiki hotels are putting visitors up on higher floors (guess they will get a good view!).

On a lighter side ... funniest tweets on #hitsunami:

-- Well, Safeway is said to have put up a sign limiting each customer to a single case of SPAM. Probably not a joke, though. ;^D

-- I'm buying fruit so I don't get scurvy.

-- Omg,,, the line for gas is super long In Kahuku.. People are lined up at La'ie supperette ...

-- I heard that the Pacific Tsunami Center is headed by Safeway and Chevron executives. Hmmm.....
posted by Surfurrus at 7:34 AM on February 27, 2010

Another tsunami map (with travel times).
posted by ericb at 7:42 AM on February 27, 2010

Amazing footage of Chile on Univision tv as I write this
Be safe signal and good luck to all in Hawaii.
posted by HappyHippo at 8:08 AM on February 27, 2010

Be safe and good luck, kama'aina. And Chilean mefites too, of course.
posted by rtha at 8:10 AM on February 27, 2010

I've got a cousin stationed at Pearl Harbor. Anyone know what they'll do with the Navy guys?
posted by chiababe at 8:16 AM on February 27, 2010

The civil defense sirens just went off, folks on the street are in a tizzy.
posted by scottymac at 8:16 AM on February 27, 2010

The info I see for Seaside, Oregon predicts a .2 meter tsunami wave at 2:46 pm. Considering I don't know a whole heck of a lot, is a wave that size something to be concerned about? High tide puts my house about 5ft above waterline and about 30ft from the back door.
posted by efalk at 8:18 AM on February 27, 2010

I've got a cousin stationed at Pearl Harbor. Anyone know what they'll do with the Navy guys?

From what I've read about previous tsunami warnings, they'll send the ships out to deeper water, as far from the coast as possible, and send any non-ship-duty sailors to higher ground.
posted by rtha at 8:21 AM on February 27, 2010

Be safe Hawaii!

The Japanese PM was just on TV talking about it - no official warnings released for us in Japan yet. However might be a nice little Sunday morning job checking the ol' evacuation kit just in case kids?
posted by gomichild at 8:22 AM on February 27, 2010

Honolulu TV is showing lineups at gas stations, grocery stores, Costco opening early -- 6:24 AM local time.

Seems the only serious concern is for people within 10-20 feet of sea level. In Waikiki they're talking about "vertical evacuations" for older folks. In other words, just walk up to the third floor.

Thinking about Chile.
posted by philip-random at 8:23 AM on February 27, 2010

Just to clarify my question: I'm wondering about this because, from this map, it appears the Aleutian Islands, Russia and the U.S. Pacific Coast (among other places) have red along the coasts. It doesn't appear that different to Hawaii, but Hawaii is getting "warnings" where these other places are getting "advisories."

It's because the scaling on the map is garbage. Everything from 20cm to 100cm is the same shade of red.
posted by ymgve at 8:58 AM on February 27, 2010

Robinson Crusoe Islands Hit By Tsunami.
posted by eriko at 9:04 AM on February 27, 2010

Latest Estimate on Hawaii, from the PTWC:

 THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME IN HAWAII OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS

                     1119 AM HST SAT 27 FEB 2010

FORECAST WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AND AMPLITUDES CREST TO TROUGH.

 HILO       1105AM HST   2.5 METERS
 HONOLULU   1137AM HST   0.5 METERS
 KAHULUI    1126AM HST   2.2 METERS
 NAWILIWILI 1142AM HST   0.9 METERS
 HALEIWA                 0.5 METERS
 KAWAIHAE                0.6 METERS

posted by eriko at 9:09 AM on February 27, 2010

Interesting map-interface crowdsourced "Disaster Alert Network" reporting site:

http://www.ubalert.com/

There is a report of 2 foot wave-height at the Galapagos.
posted by mwhybark at 9:10 AM on February 27, 2010

Live tsunami tracking from the National Data Buoy Center.
posted by fourcheesemac at 9:12 AM on February 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Poipu, Kwai, Hawaii - south shore, maybe 1/4 mile (and at least a hundred feet of elevation from the water's edge). This is a serious resort area. Even though, as mentioned, the serious concern is only for people within 10-20 feet of water level, we have been told we'll have to evacuate to across a nearby road which, of course, is a point of actually lower elevation than where we currently are.

I'm guessing the concern here is more to do with order + security than actual danger. That is, clear the entire resort out in order to make things more manageable. The flip of this is a few thousand tourists wandering around in the hot sun with nothing much to do but wine, complain, maybe drink Mai-Tais.

Local roosters are crowing, no doubt feeling a little upstaged by the hourly warning sirens coming from the water's edge.

Meanwhile on local TV, they're showing vintage footage (people running from an approaching wall of water) from the 1960 tsunami that hit Hilo on the Big Island ... urging folks NOT to panic.
posted by philip-random at 9:15 AM on February 27, 2010

The info I see for Seaside, Oregon predicts a .2 meter tsunami wave at 2:46 pm. Considering I don't know a whole heck of a lot, is a wave that size something to be concerned about?

For Oregon... if that's true, it's harmless, but I'd probably avoid doing a picnic at the beach or anything, just in case.
posted by crapmatic at 9:20 AM on February 27, 2010

Best wishes to all those affected.
posted by desjardins at 9:30 AM on February 27, 2010

There's a wave to hit the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC at 3 p.m. but the warning just states to remain off all beaches. Best luck to those fellow Pacific Islanders much south of me. Hopefully you won't be getting hit at all or with much effect.
posted by beautifulcheese at 9:38 AM on February 27, 2010

take care all - best wishes from Florida's calm-for-now west coast
posted by toodleydoodley at 9:43 AM on February 27, 2010

signal, I'm glad you're OK and I dropped you a MeMail when you have a moment. Thanks.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:49 AM on February 27, 2010

The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center website front page is pretty much dead. Fucking idiots.

That said, the actual warning messages load quickly if you have the right URL:
West coast arrival times.
West coast expected amplitudes.
These reports are froma few minutes after 9AM PST.

I think they are updated hourly. After 10:10AM PST, try these links:
arrival times | amplitudes
posted by ryanrs at 9:55 AM on February 27, 2010

Signing off from Poipu, Kauai. We're getting evacuated ... blah blah blah.

A long hot day of hanging around the town of Koloa looms.
posted by philip-random at 9:55 AM on February 27, 2010

On the MW (moment magnitude) scale the difference between two steps is 10^1.5 = 31.6 as much energy.

An 8 releases 31.6 times more energy than a 7. A 9 releases 10^(1.5*2) or 1000 times more energy.

So, roughly, comparing 9.5 to 8.8: 10^(1.5*(9.5-8.8))=11
posted by Twang at 9:57 AM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

A long hot day of hanging around the town of Koloa looms.

Eh, brah, you no got tailgate party at pu'u?

Hawai'i, 6:30 am - Waimanalo scene: cars with trunks, doors open - most all beach-side homes are evacuated or in process. Long, long lines at the one gas station in the area. Homeless tent people milling about at beach park. An evacuation bus should be along by now. The fire dept sent their trucks down toward beach area to help with evacuation information. Police are patrolling.

Oddest thing (re pu'u above) is the gathering of crowds at high ocean view areas. There was even a long line of cars parked on highway above Enchanted Lakes. The news says there are hundreds up at the Pali Lookout - tailgaiting and partying. Everyone wants to get a vid on youtube?

Best live views are going to be the surf cams on the web. (And, yes, there were surfers out at Waikiki this morning.)

I'm hanging with sister way inland. Hopefully will be able to return home tonite.

Mahalo to all for your good wishes.
posted by Surfurrus at 10:14 AM on February 27, 2010

Crazy photo set at The Big Picture. Looks really bad...
posted by Mach5 at 10:47 AM on February 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Maui here. Slightly outside evacuation zone but still moving family to higher grounds just to be safe. Stores are crazy busy and gas has run out here in the Napili area. Hopefully electricity doesn't go out.
posted by dealing away at 10:49 AM on February 27, 2010

This is part of The Amazing Race Curse
posted by dov3 at 10:49 AM on February 27, 2010

phillip-random, are you visiting? Do they have someplace for you to go?
The info I'm getting is that it should be fairly large with possible damage to the businesses (including my family's) near the water. We've spent the morning getting everything of value out of the buildings at Poipu and now we're headed up to the hills in Omao to wait it out.
posted by kaiseki at 10:49 AM on February 27, 2010

New Zealand beaches evacuated, NZ Civil Defence updates on Twitter(!).
posted by rodgerd at 10:50 AM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ha! The West Coast Tsunami Warning Center apparently uses a script to convert their standard four digit, 24-hour time format into a more friendly AM/PM format. The code probably looks something like this:

if (TIME <= 1200) print TIME "AM";
else print (TIME-1200) "PM";

Result:
THE WAVES WILL FIRST REACH LA JOLLA CALIFORNIA AT 002 PM PST ON FEBRUARY 27.

Fortunately no one will be confused by this bug since the entire website is down.
posted by ryanrs at 10:51 AM on February 27, 2010

Model of the tsunami.
posted by Mach5 at 10:57 AM on February 27, 2010 [3 favorites]

Other than a few extra feet of swells, anything expected for los angeles? (Marina Del Rey)
posted by Lord_Pall at 11:01 AM on February 27, 2010

Poop. I just realized I'm in an evacuation area if we get a warning.

Time to go find the cat carriers.
posted by Lord_Pall at 11:07 AM on February 27, 2010

Sitting three blocks from Venice Beach and probably just a tad below sea level. I do not expect to get wet, but my vertical evac route is 15' behind me, next to the laser printer in my office.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:12 AM on February 27, 2010

I'm across admiralty from the marina in a big depression. Right behind azurra (down the hill).

On the 2nd floor ish , so theoretically we're cool.
posted by Lord_Pall at 11:22 AM on February 27, 2010

Mach5, thanks. That is an incredible thing to view.
posted by fourcheesemac at 11:30 AM on February 27, 2010

I think you're probably OK, Pall:

If a "wave fluctuation" of as much as three free happens today it would probably occur at 12:25 p.m. at Santa Monica, according to the NWS. There is no threat of major damage.

(source: KTLA)
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:56 AM on February 27, 2010

The wave appears to have hit the Chatam Islands (small islands to the right of New Zealand, visible on Mach5s model) looking at the New Zealand tsunami drums at geonet. No reports yet on how big it is, but it looks about 1-2 metres based on the readings.
posted by scodger at 11:56 AM on February 27, 2010

Waves are supposed to hit Auckland @ 10:52 NZDT. T minus 105 minutes.
posted by hal_c_on at 12:08 PM on February 27, 2010

Regarding the Chile February 27 2010 8.8 earthquake and the resulting tsunami, this site has the best visuals, videos, Twitter feed I could find.

Earthquake in Chile, real time updates, NBC.

World's biggest earthquakes since 1900

"The earthquake, which hit just after 3 a.m. local time, was 64 times stronger than the one that devastated Haiti last month but was much deeper, likely making the number of casualties far fewer than those in the Caribbean nation."
posted by nickyskye at 12:08 PM on February 27, 2010

Realtime twitpic feed of images from chile. Unedited and potentially NSFW/graphic. [via mathowie]
posted by Skorgu at 12:26 PM on February 27, 2010

kaspen, [expletive deleted] and I are in a rental house on Oahu's North Shore. Our evacuation spot was extremely nearby and on a flood plain, and the property across the street was not even evacuated, so we have opted for a cooler of beer on the roof.
posted by mek at 12:30 PM on February 27, 2010

At the beach house near Laie with mek and kaspen. Will have photos on Flickr as soon as possible if there's anything to see.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:33 PM on February 27, 2010

I don't watch CNN much so I don't know who the anchor is that's on right now, but he is being a serious douchebag. Interrupting and arguing with your scientist guests is not helping us learn anything, dude.
posted by misskaz at 1:01 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

The Honolulu Advertiser is streaming live video of Waikiki Beach right now.
posted by Neilopolis at 1:01 PM on February 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

My mom and stepfather live in Waikiki. They left for a South American cruise three days ago. They are in Lima, Peru right now; one of their scheduled stops is Santiago, Chile. The tour guide called this morning to let our family know that everyone on the tour is safe and on high ground in Lima, but that's all I know right now.

I'm scared. I will be watching the news and praying.
posted by velvet winter at 1:04 PM on February 27, 2010

CNN fired their science reporters a while back... you can tell. That dude is a moron.
posted by spaceviking at 1:07 PM on February 27, 2010

I don't watch CNN much so I don't know who the anchor is that's on right now, but he is being a serious douchebag

Rick Sanchez is a loud, obnoxious oaf. The sad thing is that, journalism-wise, he's one of the better anchors on the cable nets. But I find him completely unwatchable.
posted by Justinian at 1:10 PM on February 27, 2010

Just saw a traffic cam feed of Waikiki Beach...several people perched on seawalls or walking on the sidewalks in front of the beach. One guy out in the water in front of the zoo...I guess he prefers the beach to the gene pool.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 1:20 PM on February 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Jimmy Havok, I understand those guys. Growing up at the beach in So Cal, you only go to high ground so many times without the tsunami coming. Then you start paddling out. Never came then, either.
posted by Danf at 1:26 PM on February 27, 2010

Steven Ward at UCSC has a number of 3-d models of historic tsunami events. as well as postulated ones, such as the Canary Islands landslip which could devastate eastern North America.
posted by Rumple at 1:29 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

My Mom is in Kahuku, on the opposite side of the island from Honolulu, but she evacuated a couple hours ago for higher ground. Good luck, all.
posted by Nabubrush at 1:38 PM on February 27, 2010

Watching the feeds from Hawaii.

I hope this turns out as OK as possible for those in Chile, and the tsunami zones.
posted by rollbiz at 1:47 PM on February 27, 2010

Hilarously, someone just prank called Channel Two claiming they were with the Pacific Tsunami Institute, and then called someone's mother a cunt. Missed the name.
posted by mek at 1:48 PM on February 27, 2010

For some value of "hilarious."
posted by ook at 1:58 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm right where the Ala Wai canal enters the harbor. There is a sudden surging river of mud being forced in from the ocean. I'm also going to be taking pictures of the full event. I'm 10 floors up, quite safe.
posted by scottymac at 2:04 PM on February 27, 2010

99% of the news coverage appears to be reporters reading Twitter out loud.
posted by mek at 2:10 PM on February 27, 2010

Whoa, Scottymac -- ringside seat. I love watching Guy Hagi (KFVE - KGMB) our surfer-weatherman. Great shots of Hilo surge. Crazy fast water. This must be the most watched tsunami in history.

Still getting warnings that this is not nearly over. (Still seeing surfers out there??!!)
posted by Surfurrus at 2:13 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

A buoy off Hawai'i TWEETS the wave heights - http://twitter.com/buoy51202
posted by Surfurrus at 2:16 PM on February 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Looks like another idiot out in the water off Kuhio Beach...unless it's debris. Multiple surges in and out of Hilo Harbor on a live cam, each surge taking four or five minutes. The shift looks to be around three feet or so to my eye, each one a little larger than the previous.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 2:19 PM on February 27, 2010

Water just receded on north Oahu. Maybe 2 feet.
posted by mek at 2:20 PM on February 27, 2010

Watch the Tsunami live in Hawaii
posted by yoyo_nyc at 2:41 PM on February 27, 2010

First wave down on the beach here came and went without hitting the high tide line.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 2:56 PM on February 27, 2010

Tsunami just swell.
posted by scottymac at 3:06 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

Here in New Zealand first surges hit earlier this morning. Reports are of a surge of about 1 metre that in one case turned a harbor into a "washing machine". But no damage reported so far.

Here in Wellington, local Council cancelled a "mass nude photoshoot" scheduled for a local beach. However there was still lots of usual Sunday-morning activity around the harbor this morning, including the local farmers market at Chaffers Park.

A real tragedy in Chile, and my thoughts are with those who suffering right now.
posted by vac2003 at 3:12 PM on February 27, 2010

Night is starting to fall here in Chile. There's looting, long lines at the gas stations and supermarkets. There was a tsunami or something in Talcahuano, and there's boats in the central square which is many blocks from the ocean.
Thanks to all the well-wishers.
posted by signal at 3:16 PM on February 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Reporting in from Hawaii: no big thing here. Thoughts with the people of Chile.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:18 PM on February 27, 2010

Stay safe, signal.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:25 PM on February 27, 2010

Yes, the all clear should sound for Hawai'i within the hour. We are very lucky. No damage; no danger. (I am not at all 'disappointed'!) Good evacuation-emergency response by all.

All focus on Chile -- weeks of continuing crisis ahead. Hoping the world is responding quickly.
posted by Surfurrus at 3:27 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

Great news so far. But I think this is going to make Hawaiians awfully skeptical about evacuating from anything anymore, unless either "lava" or "10.0" are in the headlines.
posted by crapmatic at 3:46 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think the 1948 and 1960 experiences are still fresh in our memories (not to mention Boxing Day), so even a few false alarms won't make people complacent. We responded well to this alert, even though the past few alerts have been happy fizzles as well.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 3:53 PM on February 27, 2010

My daughter and her boyfriend were apparently on a bus somewhere near the epicenter. He managed to get an SMS out saying they were OK, hope they still are.
posted by Duug at 4:02 PM on February 27, 2010

I have a friend whose parents went to Hawaii for their 40th wedding anniversary and are currently cooped up in a shopping mall on one of the islands. They're texting my friend and her daughter for updates, not because they're terrified, but because they're bored and there's not a lot of information available to them. My friend is watching an internet stream of the Hawaiian local news and she's keeping her folks up to date.

She and were agreeing that we really do live in the future now.
posted by immlass at 4:03 PM on February 27, 2010

Duug, glad you got some good news, hope it remains that way --
posted by angrycat at 4:06 PM on February 27, 2010

Yeah me too. :)
posted by Duug at 4:09 PM on February 27, 2010

I was really impressed with the way ppl here took the evacuation-emergency seriously. And I do have some fear for young people. Old timers still talk about the tsunamis that hit (1948,1960), but the young don't. They just remember the 'fizzles'. I would hate to see anyone ignore any alert. As I posted on my (whining) granddaughter's page: "... be happy ... if a big wave did hit, you would be taking cold 'showers' from buckets of saved water, eating cold canned food and watching sewage flow down your street."
posted by Surfurrus at 4:10 PM on February 27, 2010

Signing off from Poipu, Kauai. We're getting evacuated ... blah blah blah.

Back at the ranch roughly 4 hours after leaving. Tsunami adventure included a couple of okay Bloody Marys, brunch at the local golf course, small talk with a guy who it turns out used to finance Don Bluth's movies. Apparently it all started going horribly wrong during the making of All Dogs Go To Heaven.

Brunch was okay though the pancakes were a bit on the spongy side, as opposed to fluffy.
posted by philip-random at 4:53 PM on February 27, 2010

Duug: if they weren't harmed in the initial shakeup, chances are they're fine. Things are fairly calm. Let me know if you need any assistance.
posted by signal at 4:55 PM on February 27, 2010

Signal: Thanks, it's good to get some feedback from the source. Stay safe and thanks for the offer.
posted by Duug at 5:11 PM on February 27, 2010

I'm in a highrise in Makiki, well away from the shore, and so was never in an evacuation zone, but I was glad to see this got taken seriously here -- even if not much actually happened in Hawaii.

Nature is not something to be brushed off lightly. Next time could be the Big One.
posted by kyrademon at 5:31 PM on February 27, 2010

There were a bunch of sirens going off in Japan, but I don't know if they had much to do with a tsunami, or if they're doing an annual test. Time to head downstairs to watch NHK.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:52 PM on February 27, 2010

Wow. On NHK, essentially the entire Pacific coast of Japan is under a tsunami warning. Nemuro City in Hokkaido, and even Sendai in Miyagi are under evacuation order. They're projecting between 1 and 2 meter waves for most of the east coast, 3 meters for the Hokkaido, Miyagi, and Iwate. Chiba, where I live, the Kujukuri beach area is expecting 1 meter, and even part of Chiba facing Tokyo Bay is listed at 1 meter, which I always thought would be untouched.

I doesn't seem like a huge thing, but they're talking about waves arriving at between 2 and 3. Stay safe, Japan-fites, and my hopes for the best for everyone in Chile.

NHK bilingual is running through, I believe, their entire staff of bilingual announcers right now. When I turned it on, they had English going, then Korean, then Brazilian. The Important Announcer English Voice just popped on again.

Wow. He's saying that the coast of literally everything on the Pacific is under warning, including anything in a bay, even one sheltered from the Pacific (Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay, the bay near Nagoya), some areas in the inland sea, Kyushu, pretty much all islands in the izu chain and Okinawa and Kyushu. Kanagawa, even along the bay.

So, yeah, he just said there's an evacuation order in effect.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:08 PM on February 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Time of tsunami just been delayed a bit here. Evacuation (245,000 households) still in effect mainly in Northern Japan. Warnings and advisories still in place.
posted by gomichild at 8:37 PM on February 27, 2010

"Great news so far. But I think this is going to make Hawaiians awfully skeptical about evacuating from anything anymore, unless either 'lava' or '10.0' are in the headlines."

Which of course is silly because the height of the wave is only loosely correlated to the size of the earthquake. The 1946 tsunami that hit Hilo with a 14m surge was generated by a 7.8 earthquake.
posted by Mitheral at 10:06 PM on February 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

So far no major issues in Japan; the highest wave measured so far was 1.2 meters in Iwate. Everyone's still a bit anxious about any further tsunami, but I think it's turned out to be more-or-less a non-event.
posted by armage at 1:40 AM on February 28, 2010

"Great news so far. But I think this is going to make Hawaiians awfully skeptical about evacuating from anything anymore, unless either 'lava' or '10.0' are in the headlines."

In the last ten years or so, there have been at least four incidents I can think of where we were warned of a major, event canceling weather situation or natural phenomenon and went into the same mode we went into today.

I think, in general, we Hawaii folks are aware that its only a matter of time before a big one hit us again. I look at these "false alarms" as being more or less like fire drills.

Anyhow, Hawaii "does" evacuation and disaster preparation pretty well. While a "sudden Tsunami" like the ones that hit Samoa or Indonesia could still do in parts of our coastline, if we have a few hours to prepare (like we did today), we're looking at property damage and minimal loss of life.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:35 AM on February 28, 2010

As I posted on my (whining) granddaughter's page: "... be happy ... if a big wave did hit, you would be taking cold 'showers' from buckets of saved water, eating cold canned food and watching sewage flow down your street."

I've been writing to my whiny students that I'd be cool coming over to their houses and tossing a bucket of water in their faces if they really were that down about the lack of water damage.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:37 AM on February 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'm in Chillán, Chile, we got almost the full strength of the earthquake although thankfully our city (after being rebuilt three times after earthquakes) wasn't affected too badly, but, for example, half of Talca was destroyed and 80% of coastal town Dichato got destroyed.

Currently borrowing a usb modem (to check the news, we are completely isolated in that sense, even the local radio has been depending of calls by reporters located elsewhere to know what has been happening) but it's working very badly right now, cellphone networks are entirely collapsed.
We have no electricity, intermittent water. There's been some looting in supermarkets and open markets but for the most part things have been quiet in this city (unlike Concepcion where there have been more lootings and the mayor is calling for help), besides some fear because of a mass escape (269 people!) from the local prison.

Thankfully we had no structural damage in our house but others weren't so lucky and, of course, a lot of things were destroyed inside the houses.

I hope no one is affected too badly from the resulting tsunamis after the earthquake.
posted by Memo at 7:11 AM on February 28, 2010 [9 favorites]

Update: Electricity just came back in some parts in Chillán at least temporarily, water is still intermittent though.
posted by Memo at 7:50 AM on February 28, 2010

Memo: I'm in Chillán, Chile... currently borrowing a usb modem (to check the news, we are completely isolated in that sense, even the local radio has been depending of calls by reporters located elsewhere to know what has been happening) but it's working very badly right now, cellphone networks are entirely collapsed.

YAY YAY YAY you are not dead! I am just delighted. Signal very kindly let me know that electricity and cell networks and internet would be down in Chillán so I was very studiously not worrying but I am so, so glad you and your family are all intact.

Oh happy, happy day! :)
posted by DarlingBri at 8:12 AM on February 28, 2010

it seems to me like the number and intensity of aftershocks in this case have been extreme, yet I have not seen any analysis of this via usgs or any other official organ.

for those of you there, I hope these aftershocks are not proving too menacing or likely to inflict further damage and injury. I've never seen a quake cluster in these magnitudes go on like this.

if anyone has any links to info or analysis re this angle I'd be most appreciative....and my wishes for safety to all in Chile!
posted by supermedusa at 12:25 PM on February 28, 2010

I don't think this has been posted yet, so here are the Boston Globe's Big Picture images from Chile, mostly Santiago - Concepcion, and the city of Talca which was 80% destroyed. Also Memo's photos from Chillán, which seems to have fared much better, at least in the city centre.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:53 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

The Big Picture: Chile, nine days later
posted by homunculus at 11:33 AM on March 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

homunculus - I could easily see that as an FPP.
posted by philip-random at 12:30 PM on March 9, 2010