AN earthquake that struck in the Queen Charlotte Islands region off the west coast of Canada has generated a tsunami that is heading towards Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
The first tsunami wave was expected to arrive in the Pacific island state at 10.28pm local time on Saturday (7.28pm AEDT Sunday), the Hawaii-based centre said.
Residents were advised to evacuate coastal areas, and warning sirens sounded across the Hawaiian islands.
Centre officials told CNN that waves of one to two metres were expected.
"Basically this tsunami is pointed right at us," Gerard Fryer, the centre's senior geophysicist, said on CNN.
The tsunami waves could wrap around the islands so all shores were at risk, the centre said, adding that the tsunami could consist of multiple waves.
The warning was issued after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the Queen Charlotte Islands late on Saturday.
No reports of casualties or damage were reported on the sparsely inhabited islands.
The West Coast-Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre also issued a warning for the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska.
Emergency officials in British Columbia said a small tsunami had been recorded on a deep ocean pressure sensor, but its effect was not immediately known.
The officials urged residents in low-lying coastal areas to be alert to instructions from local officials and be prepared to move to higher ground.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the US Coast Guard in Alaska was trying to warn everyone with a boat on the water to prepare for a potential tsunami, the report said.
Natural Resources Canada said in a statement that the tremor was felt across much of north-central British Columbia.
"There have been no reports of damage at this time," the ministry added.
However, experts said tremors exceeding magnitude 7.0 were extremely dangerous.
"A 7.7 is a big, hefty earthquake. It's not something you can ignore," Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told CNN International.
He explained that the latest tremor had occurred partly under an island, but mostly under shallow water.
"I think we have to be thankful it happened where it did," Fryer said. "It definitely would have done significant damage if it had been under a city."
The Queen Charlotte Islands, which are also known by their official indigenous name of Haida Gwaii, comprise about 150 islands north of Canada's Vancouver Island. Their total population is about 5000.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Hawaii tsunami warning after Canada quake
Dengan url
http://mesinjahitan.blogspot.com/2012/10/hawaii-tsunami-warning-after-canada.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Hawaii tsunami warning after Canada quake
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Hawaii tsunami warning after Canada quake
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar