BREAKING NEWS

Tsunami warning issued: Earth quake in Sumatra with 8.5 magnitude

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 March 2005, 16:58 GMT]
An earthquake near Sumatra at nearly 240km SE of the previous quake with a magnitude of 8.5 with the "potential to generate a widely destructive tsuami in the ocean or seas near the earthquake is reported by the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). Authorities in those regions should be aware of this possibility and take immediate action. This action should include evacuation of coasts within a thousand kilometers of the epicenter and close monitoring to determine the need for evacuation further away," according to PTWC's alert message. If a tsunami is generated it is likely to hit Sri Lanka around 12.30 am according to TamilNet's calculations.

Today's aftershock is nearly 10 times weaker than the earlier quake and PTWC is advising evacuation for 1000 km around the site. Sri Lanka is nearly 1600 km from the epicenter of the quake.

The location of today's quake 240km SE of December 26th quake.
December 26 co-ordinates are: COORDINATES - 3.4 NORTH 95.7 EAST
Today's co-ordinates are: COORDINATES - 2.3 NORTH 97.1 EAST

The earthquake occurred at 16 hrs 10 min GMT. If a tsunami is generated it is likely to reach Sri Lanka shores at Sri Lanka local time 12.30 early morning. (+6 hrs GMT correction + 2 hrs 20 min for wave to travel).

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1629Z 28 MAR 2005


THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE PACIFIC BASIN EXCEPT
ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...


THIS MESSAGE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THERE IS NO TSUNAMI WARNING OR WATCH IN EFFECT.


AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS


ORIGIN TIME - 1610Z 28 MAR 2005
COORDINATES - 2.3 NORTH 97.1 EAST
LOCATION - NORTHERN SUMATERA INDONESIA
MAGNITUDE - 8.5
Fulltext of the warning:
Source: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/wmsg

EVALUATION


THIS EARTHQUAKE IS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC. NO TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS TO COASTLINES IN THE PACIFIC.


WARNING... THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI IN THE OCEAN OR SEAS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE. AUTHORITIES IN THOSE REGIONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THIS ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE EVACUATION OF COASTS WITHIN A THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER AND CLOSE MONITORING TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR EVACUATION FURTHER AWAY.

THIS CENTER DOES NOT HAVE SEA LEVEL GAUGES OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC SO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT OR MEASURE A TSUNAMI IF ONE WAS GENERATED. AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE DANGER HAS PASSED IF NO TSUNAMI WAVES ARE OBSERVED IN THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN THREE HOURS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE BULLETINS FOR ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.