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Post by Wes on Feb 28, 2010 3:07:29 GMT 10
Earthquake strikes Chile, 85 dead.A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 85 people, knocking down buildings, homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami. Local television TV Chile reported that a 15-storey building collapsed in the hardest-hit city of Concepcion, where cracks opened up in the streets. Buildings caught fire, road bridges collapsed and residents huddled in streets full of rubble of masonry and glass from destroyed homes. Many were terrified by powerful aftershocks and desperately trying to call friends and family. President Michelle Bachelet said there were more than 85 deaths just in the Maule region at the quake's epicentre, and that more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage close to the epicentre. Chile is the world's No. 1 copper producer, and the quake halted operations at two major mines. "Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged homes and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 70 miles (115 km) northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles (35 km) at 3:34 a.m. (6:34 a.m. British time). The capital Santiago, about 200 miles (320 km) north of the epicentre, was also badly hit. The international airport was closed for at least 24 hours as the quake destroyed passenger walkways and shook glass out of doors and windows. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a Pacific-wide tsunami warning for countries in Latin America, and as far away as the U.S. state of Hawaii as well as Japan, Russia, Philippines, Indonesia and the South Pacific. French Polynesia was also put on alert. au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/world/6863865/huge-earthquake-strikes-chile-85-dead/
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Post by Wes on Feb 28, 2010 3:12:34 GMT 10
Australia on tsunami watch after quake.Australia's east coast has been put on tsunami watch following a major 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile where at least six people have been killed. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) issued a tsunami watch at 7:45pm (AEDT) on Saturday declaring a "potential tsunami threat" to New South Wales, Queensland, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. "Tsunami waves have been observed on the coast of Chile that may threaten Australia," the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said in a statement on Saturday. The BoM said tsunami waves could start affecting Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands after 8:30am (AEDT) on Sunday. NSW could be hit after 8:45am (AEDT) on Sunday while Queensland could be hit after 8:15am (AEST) Duty forecaster Jake Phillips at the BoM says the NSW coast north of Broken Bay and up to Queensland's south coast as far Double Island Pt near Brisbane could experience strong waves. au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/mp/6863495/australia-on-tsunami-watch-after-quake/
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Post by Wes on Feb 28, 2010 3:31:20 GMT 10
A massive earthquake has hit central Chile, killing at least 122 people, the country's president-elect says. The 8.8 magnitude quake struck at 0634 GMT about 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital, Santiago. President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in affected areas and appealed for calm. A tsumami set off by the quake has triggered warnings in Pacific countries from Japan to New Zealand. Sirens warned people to move to higher ground in French Polynesia and Hawaii. The earthquake is the biggest to hit Chile in 50 years. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8540289.stm
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Post by Wes on Feb 28, 2010 3:35:30 GMT 10
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Post by woodgod23 on Feb 28, 2010 6:44:57 GMT 10
EWA BEACH, Hawaii – A tsunami triggered by the Chilean earthquake raced across the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, threatening Hawaii as it rushed toward the U.S. West Coast and hundreds of islands from the bottom of the planet to the top.
Sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents to the potential waves. Nine small planes equipped with loudspeakers flew along the shoreline, warning beachgoers. On several South Pacific islands hit by a tsunami last fall, police evacuated tens of thousands of coastal residents.
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle declared a state of emergency as the island chain prepared for possible tsunami damage.
She told a news conference Saturday at the state civil defense center inside Diamond Head Crater that the declaration would allow the release of disaster funds. She says the U.S. Pacific Command is standing by to help.
She says authorities are deciding whether to close wastewater pumping stations on Oahu and Maui to prevent damage from seawater.
Lingle says leprosy patients from the Kalaupapa settlement on Molokai have been moved from an isolated area on a peninsula to higher ground. Helicopters are standing by if they need to be shifted elsewhere.
The first waves in Hawaii were expected to hit shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday (4 p.m. EST; 2100 GMT) and measure roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) at Hilo. Most Pacific Rim nations did not immediately order evacuations, but advised people in low-lying areas to be on the lookout.
Unlike other tsunamis in recent years in which residents had little to if any warnings, emergency officials along the Pacific on Saturday had hours to prepare and decide on evacuating residents.
"We've got a lot of things going for us," said Charles McCreery, the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issues warnings to almost every country around the Pacific Rim and to most of the Pacific island states. "We have a reasonable lead time.
In Hawaii, boats and people near the coast were being evacuated. Hilo International Airport, located along the coast, was closed. In Honolulu, residents lined up at supermarkets to stock up on water, canned food and batteries. Cars lined up 15 long at several gas stations.
"These are dangerous, dangerous events," said John Cummings, spokesman for the Honolulu Emergency Management Department.
In Tonga, where nine people died in a Sept. 29 tsunami, police and defense forces began evacuating tens of thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas as they warned residents that waves about three feet (one meter) high could wash ashore.
"I can hear the church bells ringing to alert the people," National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai said.
On the island of Robinson Crusoe, a huge wave from the tsunami covered half the village of San Juan Batista and three people were missing, said Ivan de la Maza, the superintendent of Chile's principal mainland port, Valparaiso.
A helicopter and a Navy frigate were enroute to the island to assist in the search, he said.
A tsunami warning — the highest alert level — was in effect for Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands. An advisory — the lowest level — includes California, Oregon, Washington state, parts of Alaska, and coastal British Colombia.
British Columbia is hosting the Winter Olympic Games, but provincial officials said the venues are not under threat.
U.S. President Barack Obama says the government is preparing for a tsunami and he wants people in Hawaii, American Samoa and Guam to follow the instructions of local authorities.
American Samoa Lt. Gov. Aitofele Sunia called on residents of shoreline villages to move to higher ground. Police in Samoa issued a nationwide alert to begin coastal evacuations. The tsunami is expected to reach the islands Saturday morning.
In French Polynesia, tsunami waves up to 6 feet (2 meters) high swept ashore, damaging parts of the coast.
Meanwhile, disaster management officials in Fiji said they have been warned to expect waves of as high as 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) to hit the northern and eastern islands of the archipelago and the nearby Tonga islands.
A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands. Tsunami Center officials said they did not expect the advisory would be upgraded to a warning.
Waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of Saturday's quake. A tsunami wave can travel at up to 600 mph, said Jenifer Rhoades, tsunami program manager at the National Weather Service in Washington, DC.
Some Pacific nations in the warning area were heavily damaged by a tsunami last year.
In last fall's tsunami, spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake, also killed 34 people in American Samoa and 183 in Samoa. Scientists later said that wave was 46 feet (14 meters) high.
The tsunami warning center said the waves reached the islands so quickly residents had only about 10 minutes to respond to its alert.
During the devastating December 2004 Indian ocean tsunami, there was little to no warning and confusion about the impending waves. The tsunami eradicated entire coastal communities the morning after Christmas, killing 230,000 people.
The sirens in Hawaii will also be sounded again three hours prior to the estimated arrival time.
Every TV was showing the news. Convenience stores and McDonald's and Burger King restaurants shut down. A few people were on the famed beach, including joggers on the sidewalk, but far fewer than normal. Most seemed to be watching the ocean.
In Hilo, officials cordoned off the first three blocks next to the beach. A few people watched the still ocean as a whale swam off the coast, but streets were mostly empty as tsunami sirens blared. Gas stations had long lines, some 10 cars deep.
The SackNSave grocery store was filled with people buying everything from instant noodles to beer. Shelves with water were mostly empty, save a few bottles.
"They are buying everything we got," clerk Memory Phillik said.
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle declared a state of emergency. She said leprosy patients from the Kalaupapa settlement on Molokai have been moved to higher ground. Helicopters are standing by if the patients need to be moved to a safer area.
Past South American earthquakes have had deadly effects across the Pacific.
A tsunami after a magnitude-9.5 quake that struck Chile in 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded, killed about 140 people in Japan, 61 in Hawaii and 32 in the Philippines. It was about 3.3 to 13 feet (one to four meters) in height, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK quoted earthquake experts as saying the tsunami would likely be tens of centimeters (inches) high and reach Japan in about 22 hours. A tsunami of 28 centimeters (11 inches) was recorded after a magnitude-8.4 earthquake near Chile in 2001.
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 wave would not hit Australia until Sunday morning local time, it said.
New Zealand officials warned that "non-destructive" tsunami waves of less than three feet could hit the entire east coast of the country's two main islands and its Chatham Islands territory, some 300 miles east of New Zealand.
Seismologist Fumihiko Imamura, of Japan's Tohoku University, told NHK that residents near ocean shores should not underestimate the power of a tsunami even though they may be generated by quakes on the other side of the ocean.
"There is the possibility that it could reach Japan without losing its strength," he said.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2010 9:53:03 GMT 10
I was watchung CNN all morning waiting for that Tsunami, what did we get, nothing.
I could see the look of utter disappointment on the correspondents faces, they were all pulling for a great, live on TV, natural disaster, it could have filled up days of air time, sadly for them, nothing happened.
Also, notice the death toll isnt that high in Chile, a country that has built for and prepared for thier ever present eathquakes.
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Post by Wes on Feb 28, 2010 9:55:28 GMT 10
The death toll in the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile on Saturday has risen to at least 214 people, Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2010 9:57:14 GMT 10
The death toll in the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile on Saturday has risen to at least 214 people, Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said. I'm sure it will rise further, but in a country of 17 million, and 8.8 quake, and stiking in the middle of the night..........they really did get off lightly.
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Post by brillbilly on Feb 28, 2010 22:42:20 GMT 10
if they all built buildings like sacsahuaman ancient stone builders did the stones would rumble about and settle back down,those ancient places are near earthquake proof,? what did they know
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Post by Wes Gear on Feb 28, 2010 22:55:00 GMT 10
solid building codes and the earthquake being deeper than the one in haiti save chile.
i too saw the disappointment in the reporter's faces when the tsunami was a dud. fox news promised to be live all night but once the tsunami failed to destroy anything they switched to taped earlier programming. cnn started running political stories and msnbc went back to their regularly scheduled programming.
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