Strong 6.9M quake in Aleutian Islands, no tsunami threat to Hawaii

Magnitude

6.9

Date-Time

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 23:39:58 UTC

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 02:39:58 PM at epicenter

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 01:39:58 PM (HST) – Hawaii Standard (Honolulu)

Location

51.583°N, 178.200°W

Depth

40.5 km (25.2 miles)

Region

ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA

Distances

112 km (70 miles) WSW (253°) from Adak, AK

282 km (175 miles) WSW (258°) from Atka, AK

2026 km (1259 miles) WSW (251°) from Anchorage, AK

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001

PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS

ISSUED AT 2347Z 26 SEP 2012

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS…EXCEPT ALASKA…BRITISH COLUMBIA… WASHINGTON…OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

… TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN …

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME – 2340Z 26 SEP 2012

COORDINATES – 51.2 NORTH 178.2 WEST

DEPTH – 35 KM

LOCATION – ANDREANOF ISLANDS ALEUTIAN IS.

MAGNITUDE – 6.9

EVALUATION

A WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THREAT DOES NOT EXIST BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

THE WEST COAST AND ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE INFORMATION REGARDING ANY LOCAL TSUNAMI THREAT TO COASTS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS FOR ALASKA…BRITISH COLUMBIA…WASHINGTON…OREGON…CALIFORNIA.

NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK

344 PM AKDT WED SEP 26 2012

…A STRONG EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED BUT A TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED ALONG THE CALIFORNIA/ OREGON/ WASHINGTON/ BRITISH COLUMBIA OR ALASKA COASTS…

NO WARNING… NO WATCH AND NO ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THESE AREAS.

BASED ON THE EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE… LOCATION AND HISTORIC TSUNAMI RECORDS A DAMAGING TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED ALONG THE CALIFORNIA/ OREGON/ WASHINGTON/ BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA COASTS. SOME OF THESE AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE NON-DAMAGING SEA LEVEL CHANGES.

AT 340 PM ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME ON SEPTEMBER 26 AN EARTHQUAKE WITH PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE 6.9 OCCURRED 80 MILES/129 KM SOUTHWEST OF ADAK ALASKA.

PACIFIC COASTAL REGIONS OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA/ OREGON/ WASHINGTON/ BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA SHOULD REFER TO THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES FOR INFORMATION ON THIS EVENT AT PTWC.WEATHER.GOV.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT BY THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER UNLESS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE. SEE THE WEB SITE WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV FOR BASIC TSUNAMI INFORMATION – SAFETY RULES AND TSUNAMI TRAVEL TIMES.