The Chile tsunami
The earthquake in Chile was an 8.8 – the 7th = strongest earthquake ever recorded. It was 500 times the strength of the Haiti quake, which shows how vital strong buildings are in mitigating effects – so far only 140 dead.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive text messages from Civil Defence alerting me to the tsunami advisories. I got them by e-mail also, but text messaging is far more effective as you tend to check a text immediately.
Civil Defence also now have a Twitter account, and Twitter is a very good medium for such announcements as people can retweet them quickly. Well worth people with Twitter subscribing.
The website has the latest advisory. The only area facing possible evacuation was Banks Peninsula.
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Tags: civil defence, Tsunami
February 28th, 2010 at 9:31 am
As I mentioned last night, shallow water resonance means that trapped energy from a seismic
event could come slamming into Banks Peninsula. Don’t think this particular one will be much of an issue
February 28th, 2010 at 9:35 am
The earthquake in Chile was an 8.8 – the 7th = strongest earthquake ever recorded. It was 500 times the strength of the Haiti quake, which shows how vital strong buildings are in mitigating effects – so far only 140 dead.
Don’t forget the depth, it makes a huge difference.
Chile = 35km (I also seen reports of 59km)
Haiti = 13km
Also funny that last night the stuff article quoted Civil Defense as saying basically there is nothing to worry about, then this morning its all ‘oh shit panic panic panic’
February 28th, 2010 at 9:46 am
I have been monitoring activity on Geonet.
Latest gauges:
http://www.geonet.org.nz/tsunami/
I tried to copy the chart but it wouldn’t copy. The sizes of the waves at the Chathams are slightly larger than initially predicted;more like a metre instead of half a metre. And as noted above narrow harbours can funnel the energy.
What gets me is that the radio is doing well, BUT they say listen to the radio, watch TV, etc., but there is NOTHING on the TV. It’s business as usual there. You wouldn’t know there was anything unusual. Pathetic.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:48 am
I wonder why we don’t have sirens along the coasts as they do in Hawaii. On one report I heard from Hawaii, you could hear the sirens in the background of the report. There are so many people on the shores here who have had no idea there was a warning!
February 28th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Where is a good spot to watch the Tsunami?
February 28th, 2010 at 9:54 am
Up high. If you want to be safe. If you want to qualify for a Darwin Award, then right down at the low tide mark in the East Cape and Gisborne areas.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:54 am
The most comprehensive and rationally balanced reporting is coming from National Radio. Funny that.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Keep in mind that a 1 m tsunami surge is quite different from a 1 m normal wave. You won’t be able to stand up and will likely be swept away.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Yeah, M@tt. That’s who I have been listening to. The TV stations are USELESS.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:59 am
STOP PRESS: TSUNAMI HITS NEW ZEALAND. WIDESPREAD PANIC.
The East coast of both islands of New Zealand was devastated this morning by a massive 42cm tsunami and wholesale psychological and emototional destruction has been reported throughout the country.
The damage has spread much further than was anticipated, with rfesidents as far inland as Taupo reported to be wetting themmselves in panic. Our reporter saw literally hundreds of traumatised families running away from the lake with one distraught woman screaming “The water is coming to get us! Oh God…. please help us!!!!”
More reports will be presented as the news comes in. Meanwhile, we await people’s individual stories of their tsunami experiences as they come to hand.
ENDS
February 28th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Low tide at the moment. Good timing.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:01 am
” The most comprehensive and rationally balanced reporting is coming from National Radio. Funny that.”
Almost as funny as posting subjective opinion here as if its a matter of fact.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Is it more appropriate to watch the Tsunami while drinking a Pinot Gris or a Chardonnay?
February 28th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Dave Mann. Get real. It may be 42 cm in some places, but much more elsewhere. 1 m in the Chathams so will be a good deal larger in many places along the East Coasts. I hope you are one of those who goes down to the low tide mark to watch.
We are not talking panic but realistic care and attention.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:07 am
“The most comprehensive and rationally balanced reporting is coming from National Radio. Funny that.”
And that changes the fact National Radio is for lefty elite bludgers who expect to get their listerning pleasure at others expense how exactly….?
February 28th, 2010 at 10:08 am
1-1.5 meter surges reported in the Chathams. Try standing in that sort of force of water.
TV1 setting a good example, ditz reporting from beside the water in the biggest risk area, Lyttleton.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Brie or aged Gouda?
February 28th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Oh FFS David in Chch. What has it come to that people are scared of a little bit of WATER? Jesus… how would you even MEASURE it?
Do you think angry earth mother is going to reach up like a big nasty dragon and devour you or something? Irrational fear is pathetic and frankly laughable.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Nothing on channels 1-2-3-4 O.o nothing but shat that is.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:22 am
My reply to you Dave Mann is also FFS. Have you been listening to the reports from Waikanae and Akaroa? Unusually low “tides”, and then the water surging back in. That harbour in Northland where the boats were damaged last time, quite different from the rest of NZ, many of the boats have headed out, and those that didn’t are now being damaged by the surge, described by an eyewitness as being like in a washing machine.
This is not irrational fear – this is behaving rationally and taking care when genuine risks are there.
So I suggest to you that if you think there is no risk, then please go swimming right now.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Also, I monitor ANY activity like this because it’s part of what I do. Hence I have more interest in the Earth than the “average” person.
And as one radio report has said not “panic” but being “wary”. That is the logical rational response.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Well, obviously Earth Mother is speaking to you David. I wish you all the best and obviously the rest of us are due for a sticky end for ingnoring all her dire warnings. Water can indeed be a terrifying thing and it is frightening the way it can come up and grab you, so naturally we all need to remain vigilant at this extremely dangerous and potentially life threatening time.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Meanwhile Makara Beach in Wellington was ordered to evacuate at 8am.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:39 am
FFS Dave Mann. You really are a few bricks short of a load aren’t you. If you live in a low elevation coastal area, then yes you should be concerned. If you are not, then there is no concern. Get a grip man(n), and recognise that there is a genuine risk to a large number of people. Would you tell the people of Hawaii NOT to evacuate their beaches? That is what they have done.
So you go ahead and ignore the warnings. If you are on the beach, it’s been interesting reading your musings. If not, then we get to hear from you for some time to come.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Sigh. I meant that in Hawaii they HAVE evacuated all of their beaches, for 24 hours. That’s the safety margin – a full tidal cycle.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:51 am
And from twitter, this for our amusement
RT @dangillmor: CNN “journalist” asks expert to translate meters “into English”- Near to giving up hope for TV journalism.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Love it! I joke with my American friends that they were the first to break away from the British Empire, and the last to use English units.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:58 am
So Dave Mann thinks being cautious about the effects of the 7th largest earthquake ever recorded is “irrational fear”.
Good example of why you can never avoid casualties regardless of how much effort is spent on disaster management.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Indeed! But then again, it’s fodder for the Darwin Awards.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:01 am
I’m off to the beach. I’m really scared, actually. I have a terrible gnawing fear in the pit of my stomach of what I will find there.
I’ll report by mobile. Wish me luck.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:03 am
I recommend Gisborne or the bays around Banks Peninsula, DM. Best impact.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:04 am
And if the water recedes dramatically, be sure to follow it out to go fossicking for shellfish and stranded fish.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Water drop of 1 metre in Gisborne within 10 mins. Hmmmmm…..
February 28th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Otago Harbour at low tide is looking as low as it has, unusually low. May be coincidental. But haven’t tsunami patterns previously been initial surge, then significant draining, then a bigger surge?
I don’t think there is much danger here (apart maybe to the Dave Manns) but it’s interesting to follow what is happening. Amazing really that we say any affect at all from something happening on the opposite side of the Pacific, nearly 10,000 km away.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:06 am
And in Akaroa Harbour, a “floating” platform to which many people swim to test their swimming prowess was left stranded on the mud after the water receded well past the low tide mark.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:06 am
I guess Civil Defence has rung Chris Carter and warned him to ………pack his bags in case he needs to go to Chile.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:08 am
PG: It is low tide here in the South Island, but the water is receding even lower than usual. It is a surge, not a wall of water. Still something to avoid. It will be interesting to see what happens when we get high tide.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:11 am
The largest waves apparently often happen 6-12 hours after the initial wave, caution would be the best approach Dave.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I think, SB, that Dave Mann will ignore any advice we would proffer, because we are advising caution, which he obviously thinks is “irrational fear” and “panic”.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:17 am
So far, small waves in Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington, so anyone in those areas probably wonders what all the fuss is about. The people in Gisborne have perhaps a more realistic view of what the size of the waves will be, especially as the first waves are usually the smaller ones.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:58 am
TSUNAMI REPORT FROM THE MANUKAU HARBOUR:
I am standing on Titirangi beach surveying the scene. All around me the normally placid Manukau is, well, placid….. and I can certainly feel the effects of this great and powerful tsunami-of-the-mind as it lashes and surges against the sea wall of my consciousness.
You only have to stand looking out over the water to get a sense of the terrifying the power of the awesome thing that is brewing like an unseen monster just a few metres below the surface.
I interviewed some of the foolish people who had gone to experience this mind shattering event and one said (I quote) “Just because there are no actual physical effects of this big 2010 tsunami and there have been no waves or anything, it doesn’t mean that ordinary people’s lives are not absolutely wrecked beyond repair here. After all, in other disasters the actual physical damage has often been slight compared to the terrifying human emotional loss and suffering that followed them. We are just as devastated by this psycho-tsunami as if there had been an actual wall of water sweeping through the bay. It is just so painful”.
I am left with the feeling that it is tewwibly UNFAIR that other parts of the world have exciting earthquakes, tsunamis and disasters, but we in New Zealand must suffer the psycho-emotional effects of our grief and fear alone. Where are the aid tents and nice white 4WDs when we need them?
ENDS
February 28th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Thanks for that, DM. It simply confirms what a Fwit you really are.
February 28th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Dave Mann – Manukau Harbour is on the west coast.
February 28th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Mock my feelings if it makes you feel happy David. I don’t care what you say, this tsunami was REAL FOR ME and my pain and fear are a lasting memory of this terrible event.
February 28th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Needn’t bother, Eisenhower. DM is obviously geographically as well as logically challenged, and nothing we or anyone else says will modify his thinking. (Until it’s too late of course, but then it won’t really matter.)
February 28th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Yes of course it is on the west coast, Eisenhower. Its the closest beach to me and so thats where I went. Jesus, do I have to go to Mission Bay or somewhere just to see the same thing? Tell you what…. I have a mate who lives on Waiheke. Shall I phone him to check that his house is still standing?
February 28th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
What part of “east coast of New Zealand” did you not understand, DM?
February 28th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
FFS Dave Mann – any tsunami waves would hit our east coast. How the hell do they circle all the way round to Titirangi beach? I suggest you quit while your way behind.
February 28th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Actually, Eisenhower, they _will_ wrap around, but it takes a fair bit of time to do so. Some of the biggest waves to hit Sri Lanka were on the opposite coast, because the waves “wrap” or “bend” around the islands.
February 28th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
“m@tt (45) Says:
February 28th, 2010 at 9:54 am
The most comprehensive and rationally balanced reporting is coming from National Radio. Funny that”
m@tt or another nat Radio supporter along with Brendan Burns, is suggesting that making Nat Radio more commercial will risk lives in cases like this.
NEVER let let the left back in power.
February 28th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
How do you sign up for a text from Civil Defense David?
February 28th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Oiliver,
your local Council will give you instructions on their constantly updated website
February 28th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Having spent this beautiful Sunday with a bunch of unpaid volunteers in a state of readyness in case something went badly wrong with a potential civil disaster I am somewhat bemused by the dumb actions and inane comments of many who should know better.
Dopey buggers swimming in water that could have turned into a deathtrap in seconds, breathless reporters acting as talking heads with at times inane comments in what looked to be positions too close to potential danger, people acting selfishly to enjoy their planned day of recreation in spite of well intentioned warnings and all the while expecting those who have offered their time to react to genuine cases of bad luck or poor decision making to risk their wellbeing to make a rescue in circumstances that can be hazardous to the good samaritan.
Thankfully it turned out to be largely an exercise in civil defence management but for anyone to make suggestions of over reaction or bureaucratic navel gazing or similar, I would only suggest they have another look at the devastation of other tsunami and remember the magnitude of this disastrous quake in Chile and reflect on just what stands between it and us.
We had a wonderful day, the more energetic got some delayed maintenance done around the station , we had a good day team building, demonstrating our commitment to our community and all the while enjoying the tranquil harbour view that is a wonderful bonus for those who choose to live here.
From where I sit it was a beautiful day and my thoughts are with those whose day turned into a nightmare so quickly an ocean away.
February 28th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I agree that one day it won’t be funny gravedodger
February 28th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
One problem gravedodger,
The media see this in a different view. They promote themselves more than the facts.
Reporters/Journalists at site we are told to stay away from, Lyttleton. One of many.
The warnings have to be immediate, but the MSM scaremongering has to stop.
The education level at Civil Defence is pathetic.
The first surge at Chathams was 300cm, the next was predicted to be 27 metres. Meant to be cm but spoken as metres.
Misinformation by inexperienced people.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Agreed Steve we had a radio NZ reporter telling how people were streaming out of town at 09 45 , perfectly normal as most establishments have a checkout by 10 00am, the truth was they were not being replaced by people streaming into town as most heard the warnings and respected them.
I know most of those working to deal with the developing situation were wondering were she had been and what she had been taking as her version of events was rubbish and mostly some way off the truth.
What did Owen Glen say that so accurately described Mike Williams and truth, “an unmitigated falsifier of veracity”
March 1st, 2010 at 3:12 am
Just another pathetic warning from CD – removing people from beaches, stopping beachfront events, etc. etc. and nothing happens. Just beause much of the rest of the world has problems to contend with like major snowstorms, earthquakes, floods, war, etc. (I mean like real problems) why does this country try to make an emergency out of nothing – an earthquake happening half the world away? Perhaps we need to be more prepared for an earthquake in our own country, as they do seem to be increasing lately. But hey, until then, let’s just relax and not be a nation of panickers for something that doesn’t even happen. Makes me embarrassed to be living here. Perhaps the fact that nothing ever happens here has led to the panicking doom-mongers expecting that it will – how sad.
March 1st, 2010 at 7:38 am
Oh, just a quick question. Dis anybody in New Zealand or any other Pacific island notice anything resembling a life-threateningly disaterous ‘tsunami’ yesterday? Anybody? No? Waves, anybody? ripples…? Thought not…..
March 1st, 2010 at 7:44 am
I did actually Dave. Not much, but it was noticeable. And others also noticed:
Diver swept away by wall of water
Leon Mickelson was fishing for paua at Red Rock Beach in Hawke’s Bay when he was swamped by a metre-high surge of water, followed by two more waves. He had no idea a tsunami alert had been issued.
“This wall of water just hit me. I was getting tumbled across all the rocks, it was unbelievable. The force was just unstoppable. There was no way you could fight it, you just had to roll with it.”
The water then sucked him 20 metres out into the ocean, bouncing over rocks. “It was like being in a washing machine. It just completely and utterly caught us out.”
March 1st, 2010 at 7:54 am
The tsunami when it reached Easter Island on Saturday measured only about a foot above sea level. Ditto on Tahiti. On the Marquesas Islands, it reached six feet. Talcahuano, a coastal town in Chile, reported a 7.7-foot wave. There were reports of three people drowned and more missing on the islands of Juan Fernandez, off the Chilean coast.
Despite advances, science of forecasting a tsunami is inexact
March 1st, 2010 at 1:27 pm
What a lot of fail on this thread. For anyone who really does not understand why the 8.8 Chile quake & related tsunami were taken VERY seriously, may I remind you of:
EXHIBIT A: 2004 Boxing day tsunami:
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01492/2004_tsunami_1492102c.jpg
EXHIBIT B: 2004 Boxing day tsunami:
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/dec2009/7/4/tsunami-pic-reuters-765954698.jpg
EXHIBIT C: 2004 Boxing day tsunami:
http://theangle.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/800px-Sumatra_devastation1-400×285.jpg
EXHIBIT D: 2004 Boxing day tsunami:
http://z.about.com/d/worldnews/1/0/L/9/-/-/51908173.jpg
Or else it’s all a dirty leftie conspiracy to control your lives. Please yourselves…
March 1st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Yes Muchadoaboutnothing… If people had used their brains they would have read the news coming in from all over the Pacific on the internet reporting things like a ripple a few inches high passing by. The intelligent person with all his faculties working (people like you and me in other words) would then have deduced that we were not about to be inundated and swept off our little rock onto the shores of Australia.
Idiotic panic-mongering fuckwits however (people like.. well… other people) concluded that somehow by magic this tiddly little ripple was going to suddenly somehow reach up and smash us to pieces. What a disappointment for them.