UPDATED 12.08PM: The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has issued a tsunami warning for East Cape, Chatham Islands, the Coromandel, and Banks Peninsula.
The warning has been issued in the wake of a powerful earthquake that hit Santiago in Chile, causing buildings to sway and people to take refuge in the capital.
A powerful magnitude-8.3 earthquake shakes Chile's capital. Photo: BANJO WZTV Fox 17 (Twitter).
People in the above coastal areas are being warned to stay out of the water, stay off beaches and shore areas, not to go sightseeing and to share this information with family, neighbours and friends.
Expected arrival times are 12 hours for Chatham Island and 13 hours for the East Coast of New Zealand (after the earthquake at 22:54 UTC)
— MCDEM (@NZcivildefence) September 17, 2015People are also being asked to listen to the radio and/or TV for updates, follow instructions of local civil defence authorities.
Civil Defence says a tsunami is expected to hit the East Coast in 13 hours.
The tsunami warning will remain in effect until a cancellation message is issued by MCDEM. Updates will be issued hourly.
#CivilDefenceAKL MEDIUM #Earthquake Large Earthquake near Chile - NZ Tsunami threat being assessed http://t.co/B9rQAdG3Ua
— Auckland CDEM (@AucklandCDEM) September 16, 2015Earlier:
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake was a magnitude 8.3, revised up from 7.9.
Several strong aftershocks, measuring 6.2 and 6.4, hit within minutes as tsunami alarms sounded in the port of Valparaiso and authorities issued a tsunami alert for the country's entire coast.
The USGS said the quake struck just offshore in the Pacific at 7.54pm (10.54am NZT) and was centred about 228km north-northwest of Santiago.
It said the quake was 12km below the surface. Chile's emergency office warned that big waves caused by the quake could hit the coast by 11pm (2pm), some expected to be up to 3 metres high. Smaller waves up to 1m were predicted for Ecuador and Peru.
The US National Tsunami Warning Centre issued a warning for Hawaii and said it was evaluating the threat to other countries in the Pacific, as well as North America.
There were no immediate reports on any injuries or damage, but communications were disrupted.
On its Facebook page, New Zealand's Civil Defence said: "There has been a 7.9 magnitude earthquake near the coast of central Chile at 10:55 NZT. The threat to NZ is currently being assessed."
A magnitude-8.8 quake and ensuing tsunami in central Chile in 2010 killed more than 500 people, destroyed 220,000 homes, and washed away docks, riverfronts and seaside resorts.
That quake released so much energy, it actually it shortened the Earth's day by a fraction of a second by changing the planet's rotation.
Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries because just off the coast, the Nazca tectonic plate plunges beneath the South American plate, pushing the towering Andes cordillera to ever-higher altitudes.
The strongest earthquake ever recorded on Earth happened in Chile - a 9.5 tremor in 1960 that killed more than 5,000 people.
4 comments
Lol
Posted on 17-09-2015 14:10 | By Kenworthlogger
Yeah i think we are oberacting a little here!!!!
Crying Wolf!
Posted on 17-09-2015 16:37 | By Mackka
I guess they are obliged to put out a warning by law. However we get so many of these warnings that all turn out to be false alarms - when the BIG one does come - no-one will take any notice! Crying wolf too often can be dangerous too.
Give the wolf a
Posted on 18-09-2015 04:54 | By sambo's back
Mackka it is always better to err on the side of caution, imagine the furore if this seismic wave hit a subterranean shelf on its travels here and delivered an abundance of scallops into the Main street of Whitianga last evening, while I understand the "crying wolf" comments, this has a little more substance, and what would your emotions be like if after you had posted your comment members of your family were involved in a drama on the Coromandel Peninsula, preparation and warnings save lives!!!!, at least Papamoa was prepared, oooops or was it?.
Tonyb
Posted on 18-09-2015 13:20 | By Kenworthlogger
We need to keep things in perspective here. Chille would need to be totally flatterened and wiped off the planet to see tsunami here that did substantial damage. Cant imagine why anyone would move to the beach front then complain about the tsunami risk. Its called having your cake and eating it too.
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