Huge 8.8-magnitude quake hits Chile

• noahnoah

  27 Feb 10, 23:10

  TOKYO (AFP) - – Japanese authorities warned of a tsunami risk across wide areas of the Pacific after Chile's huge earthquake, saying that any tsunami could reach Japan around noon (0300 GMT) on Sunday.

  Asian nations are highly sensitive to any tsunami risk following the massive Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004 that left over 220,000 people dead.

  In the Philippines, which has seen a series of devastating natural disasters over the past year, authorities warned coastal communities in the east of the archipelago to prepare for possible evacuation.

  "We can imagine that a tsunami resulting from the earthquake may affect Japan," Yasuo Sekita, a Japanese meteorological agency official, told a hurriedly arranged news conference.

  If generated, a tsunami would reach the east coast of Japan around Sunday noon, the official said. "We would like people to be fully on alert for related information."

  An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile at 3:34 am local time (0634 GMT) on Saturday morning.

  The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake had generated a tsunami and that all Pacific nations could be at risk, as well as Central and South America.

  Tsunami warnings were issued by Australia and New Zealand and the Philippines said it was making arrangements for possible evacuations.

  "No evacuation order is in effect but communities along the east coast of the country are advised to wait for further information and to prepare for possible evacuation," the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. "Coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean... should keep watch."

  In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ordered his government to be prepared to offer support for victims if necessary, Jiji Press reported.

  "I told ministries concerned to be ready to take measures in case relief assistance is needed," Hatoyama told reporters.

  Earlier in the day, Japan's Okinawa island was hit by its biggest seismic jolt in more than half a century when a powerful earthquake struck, triggering minor tsunamis but causing only minor injuries and small amounts of damage.

• Larryteo

  27 Feb 10, 23:16

  Is it gonna affect Singapore? D: It better not! What worried me is because they said the whole pacific! And Singapore is also bordering the pacific!

• noahnoah

  27 Feb 10, 23:19

   

  so later when u are sleeping in peace

  ..but something might be happening

  terrible somwhere else..

  Pray ...

• Larryteo

  27 Feb 10, 23:20

  Originally posted by noahnoah:

   

  so later when u are sleeping in peace

  ..but something might be happening

  terrible somwhere else..

  Pray ...

  pray to who? There is no god leh!

• noahnoah

  27 Feb 10, 23:21

  Originally posted by Larryteo:

  pray to who? There is no god leh!

  
  nvm

  I still got my noah ark to hide..

  now news quoted

  Asia on Alert Liao...

   

   

• Larryteo

  27 Feb 10, 23:24

  Originally posted by noahnoah:

  
  nvm

  I still got my noah ark to hide..

  now news quoted

  Asia on Alert Liao...

   

   

  Then Singapore leh? :O

• dadeadman1337

  27 Feb 10, 23:24

  Wait for humans to develop gills, for those who don't have a place reserved in the ark

• ^tamago^

  27 Feb 10, 23:36

  The waters of Singapore are very sheltered....

• noahnoah

  27 Feb 10, 23:36

  Tsunami warning sounded for Hawaii
  Posted: 27 February 2010 2215 hrs

  	Photos 1 of 1 A quake reading on a seismograph.

   

   

  WASHINGTON: Hawaii was placed on tsunami alert early Saturday after a giant earthquake struck Chile triggering warnings that emergency action should be taken as all its the islands could face damage.
  
  "A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
  
  "Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property," the Hawaii-based center added.
  
  It warned the first waves could hit at 11:19 am in Hawaii (2119 GMT), and said a tsunami consisted of a long series of ocean waves, with each wave able to last five to 15 minutes.
  
  The center added in its statement that wave heights cannot be predicted and the first wave to hit the coastal ares might not be the highest. Such waves can cause extensive flooding to low-lying areas.
  
  "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," the statement said.
  
  "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 8.8 quake that struck central Chile early Saturday triggered a tsunami warning across the volatile Pacific rim of fire stretching from Japan to the Antarctic.
  
  - AFP/yb

   

   

• noahnoah

  27 Feb 10, 23:40

  Nervous Asia-Pacific on tsunami watch after quake
  Posted: 27 February 2010 2140 hrs

  	Photos 1 of 1 File picture shows a Japanese meteorologist studying posible tsunami impact points.
  	Related News •   Japan, Philippines warn of Pacific-wide tsunami risk after Chile quake •   Massive quake off Chile triggers tsunami alert across Pacific

  SYDNEY: A huge arc of Pacific nations from New Zealand to Japan went on tsunami alert on Saturday after the giant earthquake in Chile, readying emergency plans instituted after the Indian Ocean disaster of 2004.
  
  The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned dozens of far-flung islands and atolls of possible "widespread damage" from waves generated by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile, which killed at least 78 people.
  
  "Sea level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could cause widespread damage," the Hawaii-based center said. "Authorities should take appropriate action in response to this threat."
  
  Despite their great distance from the quake zone, at-risk nations included New Zealand, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and a string of Pacific archipelagos including Tonga and Samoa.
  
  Chile's remote Robinson Crusoe Island, some 700 kilometres (430 miles) from the mainland, was smashed by a huge wave after the quake, while President Michelle Bachelet also announced a partial evacuation of Easter Island.
  
  New Zealand warned of a wall of water up to three metres (9.8 feet) high potentially hitting outlying islands and part of the South Island, as the country's National Crisis Management Centre went on alert.
  
  The civil defence ministry said the tsunami could hit the country's east coast from 7:05 am (1805 GMT Saturday).
  
  The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre warned of the "possibility of dangerous waves, strong ocean currents and foreshore flooding" along the coast between Sydney and Brisbane.
  
  Officials in the Philippines started planning for possible evacuations.
  
  "No evacuation order is in effect but communities along the east coast of the country are advised to wait for further information and to prepare for possible evacuation," the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. "Coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean... should keep watch."
  
  Jake Phillips, a forecaster with Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, played down the risk of major flooding in heavily populated coastal areas.
  
  "But there is a marine threat and that would include anyone out boating or rock fishermen," he said.
  
  Coastal residents were urged to stay away from the shoreline, while any boats should be taken back to harbour and strongly secured.
  
  Memories are still raw in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga of a terrifying tsunami that trashed entire villages in September, leaving 184 dead and sparking a major international relief operation.
  
  Just a week later, thousands fled South Pacific coastal areas after a rapid succession of powerful earthquakes off Vanuatu. The Pacific "Ring of Fire" region is often hit by seismic activity caused by massive tectonic movement.
  
  The latest warnings evoked memories of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami which killed more than 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
  
  That was on the other side of Asia, but Pacific nations subsequently stepped up their own tsunami preparations in concert with the US government, with a system of electronic buoys in place to give real-time warning of giant waves.
  
  Australian officials said any tsunami would not be seen for several hours with effects only visible from about 8:15 am on Sunday (2115 GMT Saturday).
  
  If generated, a tsunami would reach the east coast of Japan around noon Sunday (0300 GMT Sunday), according to the country's meteorological agency.
  
  "We would like people to be fully on alert for related information," agency official Yasuo Sekita told a hastily arranged news conference, as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ordered his government to be ready for relief work.
  
  There were no tsunami alerts immediately issued in Indonesia and Taiwan, but officials said they were monitoring closely

• noahnoah

  28 Feb 10, 00:06

   

  Shit

  Latrest news

  Tuanami moving across pacific ocean now

• ^tamago^

  28 Feb 10, 00:40

  oh yes.... tomorrow wake up start watching news liao..

• noahnoah

  28 Feb 10, 00:42

   

  Latest news:

  Tsunami waves to peter out in Japan

   

   

• noahnoah

  28 Feb 10, 00:45

  SYDNEY – Australia has been put on a tsunami watch following a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile.

  The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning Saturday night for a "potential tsunami threat" to New South Wales state, Queensland state, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Any potential wave would not hit Australia until Sunday morning local time, it said.

  The Bureau of Meteorology says a tsunami has been observed off the coast of Chile that may threaten Australia.

  The earthquake struck early Saturday in central Chile, shaking the capital for a minute and a half

• I-like-flings(m)

  28 Feb 10, 00:47

  heng mi live on the 27th floor.. tomolo dun go out whole day lo

• ^tamago^

  28 Feb 10, 00:52

  wait to see how it turns out at Hawaii at 5am SGT and New Zealand at 3am onwards.

• ChingAlvin

  28 Feb 10, 03:22

  1st wave hits tahati but only 30 cm high.

  those in pacific region should expect higher waves any moments now, esp new zealand

• ahpork

  28 Feb 10, 03:25

  jin jialat ...   wot will happen to moi lil pOrkiess .. nervous ..

  * kicks milo tinss

  am praying hard ...

• Hitman~

  28 Feb 10, 04:40

  still hasnt built my u-boat

• Hitman~

  28 Feb 10, 04:42

  30 cm wave????sounds like a joke...ok...ferget bout tsunami......get back to bed.

• jgho83

  28 Feb 10, 04:49

  any iphone apps for tsunami warning? 

• likeyou

  28 Feb 10, 05:04

  It going to hit some today....how come cna no live reports from countries that was hit?

• QX179R

  28 Feb 10, 10:50

  SMU students in Chile for exchange programme are safe

  SINGAPORE: Four of the six Singapore Management University (SMU) students who are in Santiago, Chile, for an exchange programme are safe.

  One of the students has called home, seven hours after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit 200 miles southwest of the capital.
  
  The other two students are not in the same dormitory but are also believed to be safe.
  
  The massive quake had snapped power lines and severed communications.
  
  Earlier, the student's mother told MediaCorp that the group arrived in Santiago at about noon local time and headed to a dormitory.
  
  Until she heard from her Saturday evening, that had been the last time she spoke to her daughter, who is a third year accounting student.
  
  "We are really worried because we are wondering exactly how bad the situation is and whether any of the buildings around her collapsed or anything like that," said Zerina Khushi, mother of Iman Ashil.
  
  "I managed to speak to one of the families whose son is also there at the same time, and they haven't heard anything either and we are just praying really hard that she will be fine and somehow contact us as soon as she can."
  
  The students are registered with the Singapore Foreign Affairs Ministry and the families are in touch with the Ministry.
  
  - CNA/yb

• Mr Milo

  28 Feb 10, 10:52

   

  Come into my new freezer...........

  it can protect anyone inside from the tsunami.......

• QX179R

  28 Feb 10, 10:53

  Singapore ready to join international effort to assist quake-hit Chile

  SINGAPORE : Singapore is ready to help in the international effort for Chile in its time of need, after a devastating earthquake struck the country on Saturday morning.

  Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this in a letter to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
  
  "I am deeply saddened to learn that a powerful earthquake struck central Chile and its surrounding region on Saturday morning," said PM Lee.
  
  "On behalf of the Government of Singapore, I extend my deepest sympathies to the government and people of Chile at this difficult time. Our thoughts are especially with those who have lost loved ones, or have been injured, in this calamity."
  
  President SR Nathan also conveyed his sympathies to the victims of the earthquake.
  
  In his letter to President Bachelet, he said he is deeply saddened by the news of the earthquake and the terrible devastation that followed.
  
  "On behalf of the people of Singapore, I extend my deepest condolences to the victims and their families, and wish those injured a speedy recovery from their trauma," President Nathan said.

  - CNA /ls