AFP:
NEW DELHI — A huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the Andaman Islands between India and Myanmar on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean, the US Geological Survey reported.
The quake hit around 263 kilometres (163 miles) north of Port Blair, the main town in the Andamans, and was around 33 kilometres (20.2 miles) deep, said a USGS statement.
The epicenter was also around 364 kilometres (226 miles) southwest of the Irriwaddy Delta region of Myanmar which was devastated by a huge cyclone in May last year that left over 138,000 people dead.
The USGS said a tsunami watch had been issued for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh.
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Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre, which was set up after the 2004 tsunami, said it was monitoring events.
"We have been warned about the quake and are watching the situation. We have not yet issued an alert, we are still watching developments," an official at the centre said.
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TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 2105Z 10 AUG 2009
THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.
... A REGIONAL TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT ...
A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR
INDIA / MYANMAR / INDONESIA / THAILAND / BANGLADESH
FOR OTHER AREAS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION...THIS MESSAGE IS FOR
INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME.
THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 1956Z 10 AUG 2009
COORDINATES - 14.1 NORTH 93.0 EAST
LOCATION - ANDAMAN ISLANDS INDIA REGION
MAGNITUDE - 7.7
EVALUATION
SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY HAVE
BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER.
THE THREAT MAY CONTINUE FOR COASTAL AREAS LOCATED WITHIN ABOUT A
THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. FOR THOSE AREAS
WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES HAVE OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS AFTER
THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME 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.
LOCATION FORECAST POINT COORDINATES ARRIVAL TIME
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
INDIA NORTH ANDAMAN 13.3N 92.6E 2021Z 10 AUG
LITTLE ANDAMAN 10.7N 92.3E 2053Z 10 AUG
PORT BLAIR 11.9N 92.7E 2121Z 10 AUG
GREAT NICOBAR 7.1N 93.6E 2136Z 10 AUG
KAKINADA 17.2N 82.7E 2205Z 10 AUG
BALESHWAR 21.6N 87.3E 2231Z 10 AUG
MYANMAR PYINKAYAING 15.9N 94.3E 2047Z 10 AUG
CHEDUBA ISLAND 18.9N 93.4E 2100Z 10 AUG
SITTWE 20.0N 92.9E 2135Z 10 AUG
MERGUI 12.8N 98.4E 2243Z 10 AUG
YANGON 16.5N 96.4E 2321Z 10 AUG
INDONESIA BANDA ACEH 5.5N 95.1E 2204Z 10 AUG
THAILAND PHUKET 8.0N 98.2E 2244Z 10 AUG
KO PHRA THONG 9.1N 98.2E 2257Z 10 AUG
KO TARUTAO 6.6N 99.6E 0012Z 11 AUG
BANGLADESH CHITTAGONG 22.7N 91.2E 2340Z 10 AUG
ADDITIONAL BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER FOR THIS EVENT AS MORE INFORMATION
BECOMES AVAILABLE.
THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FOR THIS EVENT. IN THE CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION...THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.Update:
Canceled
1 comment:
And how fitting - a news report in yesterdays "Phuket Gazette":
Tsunami warning buoy for Phuket now dead in the water due to lack of maintenance by the Thai authorities.
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