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In the early hours of this morning a massive 8.8 magnitude quake struck southern Chile, causing what early reports suggest is extensive damage, and generating a Tsunami.
This Tsunami – or rather, series of Tsunamis – are traveling across the Pacific at roughly the speed of an airliner. Their impacts won’t be felt in places like Hawaii, New Zealand, and Indonesia for hours.
It is impossible to forecast with any accuracy how large these tsunami waves will be when they reach these locations, but we can estimate the arrival time.
The first of these Tsunamis is expect to strike the Hawaiian islands a little after 11am, HST.
Huge earthquake batters Chile, 78 dead
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 78 people, knocking down buildings and triggering a tsunami.
President Michelle Bachelet said there were 78 confirmed deaths and that more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making it difficult to make an early assessment of the damage, but serious damage was reported in two southern cities.
"Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET).
Early reports, such as the number of deaths, amount of damage, and size of tsunamis generated are all subject to revision.
The latest Tsunami bulletins are available by clicking the graphic below.
BULLETIN
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 7
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
148 AM HST SAT FEB 27 2010TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII
SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WARNING SUPPLEMENT
A TSUNAMI WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII.
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 0834 PM HST 26 FEB 2010
COORDINATES - 36.1 SOUTH 72.6 WEST
LOCATION - NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE
MAGNITUDE - 8.8 MOMENTEVALUATION
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ALONG COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY.
A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF LONG OCEAN WAVES. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAVE CREST CAN LAST 5 TO 15 MINUTES OR MORE AND EXTENSIVELY FLOOD COASTAL AREAS. THE DANGER CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE AS SUBSEQUENT WAVES ARRIVE. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST.
TSUNAMI WAVES EFFICIENTLY WRAP AROUND ISLANDS. ALL SHORES ARE AT RISK NO MATTER WHICH DIRECTION THEY FACE. THE TROUGH OF A TSUNAMI WAVE MAY TEMPORARILY EXPOSE THE SEAFLOOR BUT THE AREA WILL QUICKLY FLOOD AGAIN. EXTREMELY STRONG AND UNUSUAL NEARSHORE CURRENTS CAN ACCOMPANY A TSUNAMI. DEBRIS PICKED UP AND CARRIED BY A TSUNAMI AMPLIFIES ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER.
SIMULTANEOUS HIGH TIDES OR HIGH SURF CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE TSUNAMI HAZARD.
THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME IN HAWAII OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS
1119 AM HST SAT 27 FEB 2010
MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.
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