Wow, Chile got hammered. This one was really bad. We are under a Tsunami Warning here until further notice, Expecting at least 3 to 4 foot tsunami waves here in about 5 hours. The local civil defense said they doub't it will cause any damage on land. However the same pack of morons totally dismissed the fact that there was even a tsunami until they heard the international warnings an hour or two after the initial warnings started to come across the TV screen on CNN. Instead of having someone on the local TV stations telling people what to expect or which direction to head if they are on the coast or in low laying areas. We have informercials for some facial make up and rocket chef. Gotta say the NZ Government needs to wake up get their shit together when it comes to this kind of stuff.
As always our prayers go forth. Interesting quote from the AFP “The tremor struck at 3:34 am local time (0634 GMT) when many Chileans were still in nightclubs partying at the start of the weekend.”
The Chile Gov is still saying the death toll is below 100 people. I have a feeling it is going to be quite a bit higher judging by the amount of damage they are showing on cnn right now. On a side note this tsunami warning couldn't have come at a worse time because this is probably not going to happen this morning I planned on having a peak as it is only a 5 minute drive away.
Crazyness. I left Chile last night and flew to Argentina for the weekend. When we got up this morning the earthquake was all over the news. The airport had all the glass blown out and some other strucutral damage. Can´t believe it!
Penny has a niece who is employed at the university in Santiago. She's currently on holiday down south nearer where the epicenter was. We're quite worried here.
CNN reported that the sparsely populated Juan Fernández Islands had been hit by a 40-meter (131-foot) wave. Now THAT'S a wave! :-O
That seems unlikely.
Originally posted by Makka:
Originally posted by David Ey:
All caused by Global Warming.
I don't understand what global warming has to do with plate movements....unless of course your comment was tongue-in-cheek, in which case :)
"Tongue in cheek" is the nice way to put it.
Originally posted by wolf:
Crazyness. I left Chile last night and flew to Argentina for the weekend. When we got up this morning the earthquake was all over the news. The airport had all the glass blown out and some other strucutral damage. Can´t believe it!
I'm glad you missed it. I have an acquaintance who is vacationing there right now -- I hope he's okay.
Originally posted by Bugzeye:
.... On a side note this tsunami warning couldn't have come at a worse time because this is probably not going to happen this morning I planned on having a peak as it is only a 5 minute drive away.
Sounds like fun -- I hope they reschedule. A friend of mine did (posed for) a Spencer Tunick shot once, just for the experience.
CNN reported that the sparsely populated Juan Fernández Islands had been hit by a 40-meter (131-foot) wave. Now THAT'S a wave! :-O
That seems unlikely
On the other hand, "The largest tsunami ever recorded occurred on 9 July 1958 in Lituya Bay, Alaska. An earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale resulted in a massive tsunami which reached a height of 1,720 feet or 40 feet short of a third of a mile (524 metres, or over half a kilometre)."
I didn't realize they got that big! However the only reference I can find so far to today's earthquake is to a "huge 7 foot" wave that hit another part of Chile.
Just saw on CNN that the wave that hit that island was 7.7 feet. Maverics had 30 foot waves you do the math
Wave height refers to height above normal sea level, not the actual height of the wave itself. Tsunami waves of only a few feet can innundate vulnerable areas.
The thing about a tsunami is that it may be only a few feet high, but it moves at tremendous speeds (hundreds of kilometers per hour) and when it runs into shallow water, a wave that's only a few feet high in open ocean can rise to spectacular heights as it "breaks."
Let's hope that this one is mild, and that folks take heed and move inland in high-risk areas.
