M8.1 Recorded Near New Zealand, Tsunami Watch Issued for Hawaii
8:20 PM · Mar 4, 2021EDIT: Tsunami watch has been canceled, first wave reports from Samoa were only 1ft. There is no tsunami threat to Hawaii. A magnitude 8.1 earthquake has struck off the northern shore of New Zealand near the Kermadec Islands with a depth of 10km. It is not know if the earthquake has been able generate a tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a Tsunami Watch while the data is further reviewed. The last time a tsunami was generated from the Kermadec Islands that reached Hawaii was in 1917, on May 1st. A M8.0 earthquake generated a .3m (~1 foot) run-up of seawater on Oahu. This post will be updated as PTWC makes further refinements to the Tsunami Watch. EDIT (10:36am): If a tsunami was generated, it would be expected to arrive in Hawaii at roughly 4:35pm HST today. Second press release from PTWC posted in the comments. EDIT (10:45am): From NOAA, "Tsunami waves are forecast to be less than 0.3 meters above the tide level for the coasts of Hawaii."
BULLETIN TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 2 NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI 1024 AM HST THU MAR 04 2021 TO - EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE STATE OF HAWAII SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WATCH SUPPLEMENT A TSUNAMI WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII. AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ORIGIN TIME - 0928 AM HST 04 MAR 2021 COORDINATES - 29.6 SOUTH 176.0 WEST LOCATION - KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION MAGNITUDE - 8.1 MOMENT EVALUATION BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A TSUNAMI MAY HAVE BEEN GENERATED BY THIS EARTHQUAKE THAT COULD BE DESTRUCTIVE ON COASTAL AREAS EVEN FAR FROM THE EPICENTER. AN INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS A TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. IF TSUNAMI WAVES IMPACT HAWAII THE ESTIMATED EARLIEST ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS 0435 PM HST THU 04 MAR 2021 FURTHER MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT UNTIL THE THREAT TO HAWAII HAS PASSED.
Mar 4, 2021