Chile quake triggers RP tsunami alert 1
After a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit south-central Chile on the other side of the Pacific Ocean at 3:34 a.m. Saturday (2:34 p.m. Saturday in Manila), Tsunami Alert Level 1 that was raised in the Philippines on Saturday afternoon was retained by state seismologists.
Various local governments are still monitoring the country’s eastern seaboard that spans the Pacific coastal towns of 19 provinces. Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said that the Chile earthquake produced tsunami waves that are currently passing the Pacific and, if these contain enough power, it is expected to hit Philippine coastlines sometime between 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The powerful quake affected the south-central Chile, at least 147 people were killed based on initial reports and also setting off a tsunami as high as 1.29 meters off the Pacific Ocean, based on the reports of Chilean officials.
The resulting tsunami made it to the Philippine coastlines more than 24 hours after the earthquake struck the South American nation,said Solidum. Solidum added that they were impelled to raise the alert level around 3:10pm Saturday, based on a lesson learned from a more powerful 9.5-magnitude earthquake in May 1960 that also hit Chile.
Meanwhile, Phivolcs official clarified that there are still no advise for evacuation especially those who are living near the country’s Pacific coastlines. They would like to wait for information regarding the development of a possible tsunami hitting our coast. Solidum clarified that evacuations would only be necessary once a Tsunami alert level 3 has been raised. People living in the eastern part of the Philippines should be alert for any further news from Phivolcs.
19 areas along the east coast of the Philipppines were identified by Phivolcs as areas of concern:
- Batanes Group of Islands
- Cagayan
- Ilocos Norte
- Isabela
- Quezon
- Aurora
- Camarines Norte
- Camarines Sur
- Albay
- Catanduanes
- Sorsogon
- Northern Samar
- Eastern Samar
- Leyte
- Southern Leyte
- Surigao del Norte
- Surigao del Sur
- Davao Oriental
- Davao del Sur
Phivolcs said while there is no evacuation order is in effect, communities along these coasts are advised to prepare for a possible evacuation.
What is Tsunami?
(taken from Wikipedia)
A Tsunami is a is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water such as an ocean.
Causes
A tsunami can be generated when convergent or destructive plate boundaries abruptly move and vertically displace the overlying water. It is very unlikely that they can form at divergent (constructive) or conservative plate boundaries. This is because constructive or conservative boundaries do not generally disturb the vertical displacement of the water column. Subduction zone related earthquakes generate the majority of tsunami.
Tsunamis have a small amplitude (wave height) offshore, and a very long wavelength(often hundreds of kilometers long), which is why they generally pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a slight swell usually about 300 millimetres (12 in) above the normal sea surface. They grow in height when they reach shallower water, in a wave shoaling process described below. A tsunami can occur in any tidal state and even at low tide can still inundate coastal areas.
For more information regarding the Tsunami topic, please refer to Wikipedia website: click here
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