tsunami alert NSW coastaL AREA 1023PM 15 JULY

[h0ughy (David)]

http://www.bom.gov.au/tsunami/nsw_alerts.shtml

IDY68028

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology

MEDIA:
NO USE OF STANDARD EMERGENCY WARNING SIGNAL (SEWS)
TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE AND FREQUENT BROADCAST
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TSUNAMI WARNING NUMBER 3 FOR PARTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Issued by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) at
09:25 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009

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TSUNAMI THREAT TO THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

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SUMMARY:

Tsunami warning for the marine environment for parts of NEW SOUTH WALES.

Threatened areas extend from Gabo Island to Seal Rocks including Batemans Bay,
Bellambi, Botany Bay, Gabo Island, Jervis Bay, Kiama, Merimbula, Montague
Island, Moruya, Moruya Heads, Narooma, Nelson Bay, Norah Head, Shell Harbour,
Sydney Harbour, Ulladulla and Wollongong.

Possibility of DANGEROUS WAVES, STRONG OCEAN CURRENTS AND SOME LOCALISED
OVERFLOW ONTO THE IMMEDIATE FORESHORE for several hours from 09:45 pm (EST)
Wednesday.

Although major evacuations are not required, people are advised to get out of
the water and move away from the immediate water's edge.

Next update will be issued by 10:25 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009

For latest and further information call 1300 TSUNAMI (1300 878 6264) or visit
www.bom.gov.au

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DETAILS:

A threat of DANGEROUS WAVES, STRONG OCEAN CURRENTS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME
LOCALISED OVERFLOW ONTO THE IMMEDIATE FORESHORE exists for parts of NEW SOUTH
WALES from Gabo Island to Seal Rocks including Batemans Bay, Bellambi, Botany
Bay, Gabo Island, Jervis Bay, Kiama, Merimbula, Montague Island, Moruya,
Moruya Heads, Narooma, Nelson Bay, Norah Head, Shell Harbour, Sydney Harbour,
Ulladulla and Wollongong.

Tsunami effects are expected at the following locations from these times:

Port Kembla after 09:45 pm (EST) Wednesday
Batemans Bay after 09:45 pm (EST) Wednesday
Eden after 09:45 pm (EST) Wednesday
Sydney after 10:00 pm (EST) Wednesday
Newcastle after 10:15 pm (EST) Wednesday

COMMUNITY RESPONSE ADVICE FROM THE NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE

- While major evacuations in these areas are not required, people are advised
to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge of
harbours, coastal estuaries, rock platforms and beaches.

- Boats in harbours, estuaries or shallow coastal water should return to
shore. Secure your boat and move away from the waterfront.

- Vessels already at sea should stay offshore in deep water until further
advised.

- Do not go to the coast to watch the tsunami, as there is the possibility of
dangerous, localised flooding of the immediate foreshore.

- Check that your neighbours have received this advice.

CAUTION:
Tsunami waves are more powerful than the same size beach waves, with the first
wave not necessarily being the largest.

Low-level effects may be observed in neighbouring coastal areas. People are
advised to take care.

TSUNAMI SOURCE:
An undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.9 (Latitude 45.960S Longitude 166.470E )
occurred at 07:22 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009 near OFF W. COAST OF S.
ISLAND, N.Z..

Sea level observations have confirmed a tsunami has been generated.

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The earthquake of magnitude 7.9 (Latitude 45.960S Longitude 166.470E )
occurred at 07:22 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009.

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The NEXT UPDATE will be issued by 10:25 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009

FOR LATEST AND FURTHER INFORMATION:
Call 1300 TSUNAMI (1300 878 6264) or visit www.bom.gov.au

FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE:
Call the NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE on 132 500

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EST = Eastern Standard Time
CST = Central Standard Time = EST - 30 minutes
WST = Western Standard Time = EST - 2 hours

The JATWC is operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience
Australia
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[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Take care everyone.
With luck it will turn out to be a fizzer.

[Lester]

SBS news has just said the Tsunami warning has been cancelled.

[renormalised (Carl)]

No doubt, some idiot board riders will be down Manly, Bondi, Maroubra or Bronte to try and catch the damn thing....I hope it turns out only a foot or so high!!

[renormalised (Carl)]

Well, it's been cancelled....bad luck, boardies

[matt]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

With luck it will turn out to be a fizzer.

That's the way it appears to be headed.

[Jen]

the first few post scared me

The when i heard it was cancelled i was like phew thank god for that but you guys close to there better keep watch just in case

[Inmykombi (Geoff)]

Wow, Just read this and confirmed it on the Weather sites.

We live near the Sea near Gosford and will keep an eye out.
As you said JJJ....hope its a fizzer.

PS....still current on Weather site by Beureau of Meteorology.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

The trouble now will be that the next time an alert is given, some people won't take it seriously. That's happened in Hawaii and Japan over the years, and then a big one does hit, and many lives are lost.

[Inmykombi (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by renormalised

No doubt, some idiot board riders will be down Manly, Bondi, Maroubra or Bronte to try and catch the damn thing....I hope it turns out only a foot or so high!!

I hope its a fizzer too.
But my understanding of a Tsunami is that its not the size of the wave, but the volume of water , and the fact that the oceans level rises to the point where it rapidly moves and floods an area.
A foot or so rise in water level could do plenty of damage.

Quickly rising water can be very very dangerous especially with our heavily populated coastal areas.
We live near a coastal lagoon that flodds in heavy rain....Never mind a Tsunami.

My advise is keep an eye on the weather channels and sites for a day or so.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by Inmykombie

I hope its a fizzer too.
But my understanding of a Tsunami is that its not the size of the wave, but the volume of water , and the fact that the oceans level rises to the point where it rapidly moves and floods an area.
A foot or so rise in water level could do plenty of damage.

Quickly rising water can be very very dangerous especially with our heavily populated coastal areas.
We live near a coastal lagoon that flodds in heavy rain....Never mind a Tsunami.

My advise is keep an eye on the weather channels and sites for a day or so.

That's true, for most tsunamis....they don't get to be very high but the volume of water coming in behind the wavefront is vast. That's why you see pictures of entire bays of water emptying out just before the "crest" of the wave comes in. The wavelength of a typical tsunami can be on the order of several hundred kilometers.

The ones you see that are like your typical rollers are fairly rare and all depend on the topography of the local sea bottom the wave happens to be moving over. Although a very big disturbance, like the 2004 Indonesian event, will produce a typical wave. Breaker type waves generally occur where the sea bottom rises rapidly from a great depth and shelves quickly in a narrow space....like the 2003 tsunami on the north coast of PNG. But, when they do occur, they're whoppers. The PNG wave was 90 feet high and reports from parts of Sumatra close to the 2004 quake epicenter put some wave heights at close to 50 metres ....though generally they were 15-30 feet high for most of the coastal areas.