8.3 Chile Quake: Tsunami advisory issued for California

An image from the NOAA showing travel times for a possible tsunami from the magnitude-8.3 earthquake off the coast of Chile on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. An image from the NOAA showing travel times for a possible tsunami from the magnitude-8.3 earthquake off the coast of Chile on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 8.3 Chile Quake: Tsunami advisory issued for California 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An 8.3 magnitude earthquake in Chile Wednesday sent seismic energy across the Pacific and triggered official tsunami watches and warnings for much of the Pacific, including the Southern California coast.

A tsunami advisory was issued for California from San Onofre State Beach in San Diego County to as far north as San Luis Obispo.

Many areas are expected to receive just a small tsunami wave of a few feet but closer to the quake in Coquimbo, Chile the tsunami struck with strong surge heights as high as 15.1 feet above the tide line.

Below is the official alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center including tsunami arrival times for Hawaii issued Wednesday evening.

For real-time updates, and any potential threat to California overnight, check the latest alerts at: http://ntwc.arh.noaa.gov/

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* AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 8.3 OCCURRED

NEAR THE COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE AT 2254 UTC ON WEDNESDAY

SEPTEMBER 16 2015.

* BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA... HAZARDOUS TSUNAMI WAVES ARE

FORECAST FOR SOME COASTS.

---------------------------------

* TSUNAMI WAVES REACHING MORE THAN 3 METERS ABOVE THE TIDE

LEVEL ARE POSSIBLE ALONG SOME COASTS OF

CHILE.

* TSUNAMI WAVES REACHING 1 TO 3 METERS ABOVE THE TIDE LEVEL ARE

POSSIBLE ALONG SOME COASTS OF

FRENCH POLYNESIA.

* TSUNAMI WAVES REACHING 0.3 TO 1 METERS ABOVE THE TIDE LEVEL

ARE POSSIBLE FOR SOME COASTS OF

MEXICO... ECUADOR... PERU... ANTARCTICA... JAPAN... NEW

CALEDONIA... NEW ZEALAND... MARSHALL ISLANDS... FIJI... SAMOA...

AMERICAN SAMOA... COOK ISLANDS... TOKELAU... VANUATU...

KIRIBATI... JOHNSTON ISLAND... PALMYRA ISLAND... HOWLAND AND

BAKER... TONGA... WALLIS AND FUTUNA... PITCAIRN ISLANDS...

NIUE... SOLOMON ISLANDS... RUSSIA... HAWAII... AND NW HAWAIIAN

ISLANDS.

* TSUNAMI WAVES ARE FORECAST TO BE LESS THAN 0.3 METERS ABOVE

THE TIDE LEVEL FOR THE COASTS OF

EL SALVADOR... GUATEMALA... HONDURAS... COSTA RICA...

NICARAGUA... PANAMA... COLOMBIA... AUSTRALIA... PHILIPPINES...

TAIWAN... CHINA... NORTHERN MARIANAS... GUAM... PALAU... YAP...

POHNPEI... CHUUK... KOSRAE... NAURU... WAKE ISLAND... MIDWAY

ISLAND... JARVIS ISLAND... TUVALU... PAPUA NEW GUINEA...

INDONESIA... VIETNAM... MALAYSIA... AND BRUNEI.

* ACTUAL AMPLITUDES AT THE COAST MAY VARY FROM FORECAST

AMPLITUDES DUE TO UNCERTAINTIES IN THE FORECAST AND LOCAL

FEATURES. IN PARTICULAR MAXIMUM TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ON ATOLLS

WILL LIKELY BE MUCH SMALLER THAN THE FORECAST INDICATES.

* FOR OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS PRODUCT A FORECAST HAS NOT

YET BEEN COMPUTED. THE FORECAST WILL BE EXPANDED AS NECESSARY

IN SUBSEQUENT PRODUCTS.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

-------------------

* GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THREATENED COASTAL AREAS

SHOULD TAKE ACTION TO INFORM AND INSTRUCT ANY COASTAL

POPULATIONS AT RISK IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR OWN EVALUATION...

PROCEDURES AND THE LEVEL OF THREAT.

* PERSONS LOCATED IN THREATENED COASTAL AREAS SHOULD STAY ALERT

FOR INFORMATION AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FROM NATIONAL AND

LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL

--------------------------

* ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL -ETA- OF THE INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE

FOR PLACES WITHIN THREATENED REGIONS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL

ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE

LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN

WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION REGION COORDINATES ETA(UTC)

------------------------------------------------------------

VALPARAISO CHILE 33.0S 71.6W 2316 09/16

COQUIMBO CHILE 29.9S 71.4W 2318 09/16

CALDERA CHILE 27.1S 70.8W 2338 09/16

ANTOFAGASTA CHILE 23.3S 70.4W 0001 09/17

TALCAHUANO CHILE 36.7S 73.1W 0002 09/17

IQUIQUE CHILE 20.2S 70.1W 0033 09/17

CORRAL CHILE 39.8S 73.5W 0033 09/17

ARICA CHILE 18.5S 70.3W 0044 09/17

MOLLENDO PERU 17.1S 72.0W 0052 09/17

SAN JUAN PERU 15.3S 75.2W 0110 09/17

GOLFO DE PENAS CHILE 47.1S 74.9W 0146 09/17

LA PUNTA PERU 12.1S 77.2W 0201 09/17

CHIMBOTE PERU 9.0S 78.8W 0255 09/17

PUERTO MONTT CHILE 41.5S 73.0W 0329 09/17

EASTER ISLAND CHILE 27.1S 109.4W 0413 09/17

BALTRA ISLAND ECUADOR 0.5S 90.3W 0500 09/17

THURSTON ISLAND ANTARCTICA 72.0S 100.0W 0542 09/17

PITCAIRN ISLAND PITCAIRN 25.1S 130.1W 0715 09/17

SALINA CRUZ MEXICO 16.5N 95.2W 0743 09/17

RIKITEA FRENCH POLYNESIA 23.1S 135.0W 0803 09/17

CABO SAN LUCAS MEXICO 22.8N 110.0W 0920 09/17

HIVA OA FRENCH POLYNESIA 10.0S 139.0W 0924 09/17

CAPE ADARE ANTARCTICA 71.0S 170.0E 0928 09/17

PAPEETE FRENCH POLYNESIA 17.5S 149.6W 1012 09/17

PUNTA ABREOJOS MEXICO 26.7N 113.6W 1034 09/17

RAROTONGA COOK ISLANDS 21.2S 159.8W 1043 09/17

FLINT ISLAND KIRIBATI 11.4S 151.8W 1055 09/17

MALDEN ISLAND KIRIBATI 3.9S 154.9W 1141 09/17

PENRYN ISLAND COOK ISLANDS 8.9S 157.8W 1147 09/17

NIUE ISLAND NIUE 19.0S 170.0W 1150 09/17

GISBORNE NEW ZEALAND 38.7S 178.0E 1215 09/17

NUKUALOFA TONGA 21.0S 175.2W 1219 09/17

PUKAPUKA ISLAND COOK ISLANDS 10.8S 165.9W 1220 09/17

EAST CAPE NEW ZEALAND 37.7S 178.5E 1221 09/17

WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND 41.3S 174.8E 1225 09/17

PAGO PAGO AMERICAN SAMOA 14.3S 170.7W 1226 09/17

CHRISTMAS ISLAN KIRIBATI 2.0N 157.5W 1231 09/17

APIA SAMOA 13.8S 171.8W 1240 09/17

NORTH CAPE NEW ZEALAND 34.4S 173.3E 1247 09/17

NAPIER NEW ZEALAND 39.5S 176.9E 1257 09/17

WALLIS ISLAND WALLIS AND FUTUN 13.3S 176.3W 1300 09/17

NUKUNONU ISLAND TOKELAU 9.2S 171.8W 1302 09/17

FUTUNA ISLAND WALLIS AND FUTUN 14.3S 178.2W 1323 09/17

PALMYRA ISLAND PALMYRA ISLAND 5.9N 162.1W 1325 09/17

AUCKLAND EAST NEW ZEALAND 36.7S 175.0E 1338 09/17

SUVA FIJI 18.1S 178.4E 1339 09/17

KANTON ISLAND KIRIBATI 2.8S 171.7W 1342 09/17

ANATOM ISLAND VANUATU 20.2S 169.9E 1414 09/17

HOWLAND ISLAND HOWLAND AND BAKE 0.6N 176.6W 1426 09/17

JOHNSTON ISLAND JOHNSTON ISLAND 16.7N 169.5W 1437 09/17

NOUMEA NEW CALEDONIA 22.3S 166.5E 1454 09/17

ESPERITU SANTO VANUATU 15.1S 167.3E 1515 09/17

SANTA CRUZ ISLA SOLOMON ISLANDS 10.9S 165.9E 1539 09/17

TARAWA ISLAND KIRIBATI 1.5N 173.0E 1556 09/17

MAJURO MARSHALL ISLANDS 7.1N 171.4E 1620 09/17

KWAJALEIN MARSHALL ISLANDS 8.7N 167.7E 1647 09/17

ENIWETOK MARSHALL ISLANDS 11.4N 162.3E 1748 09/17

UST KAMCHATSK RUSSIA 56.1N 162.6E 1850 09/17

PETROPAVLOVSK RUSSIA 53.2N 159.6E 1922 09/17

URUP ISLAND RUSSIA 46.1N 150.5E 1944 09/17

KUSHIRO JAPAN 42.9N 144.3E 2028 09/17

KATSUURA JAPAN 35.1N 140.3E 2059 09/17

HACHINOHE JAPAN 40.5N 141.5E 2108 09/17

SHIMIZU JAPAN 32.8N 133.0E 2214 09/17

NOBEOKA JAPAN 32.5N 131.8E 2217 09/17

POTENTIAL IMPACTS

-----------------

* A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES. THE TIME BETWEEN WAVE CRESTS

CAN VARY FROM 5 MINUTES TO AN HOUR. THE HAZARD MAY PERSIST FOR

MANY HOURS OR LONGER AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE.

* IMPACTS CAN VARY SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ONE SECTION OF COAST TO

THE NEXT DUE TO LOCAL BATHYMETRY AND THE SHAPE AND ELEVATION

OF THE SHORELINE.

* IMPACTS CAN ALSO VARY DEPENDING UPON THE STATE OF THE TIDE AT

THE TIME OF THE MAXIMUM TSUNAMI WAVES.

* PERSONS CAUGHT IN THE WATER OF A TSUNAMI MAY DROWN... BE

CRUSHED BY DEBRIS IN THE WATER... OR BE SWEPT OUT TO SEA.

NEXT UPDATE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

--------------------------------------

* THE NEXT MESSAGE WILL BE ISSUED IN ONE HOUR... OR SOONER IF

THE SITUATION WARRANTS.

* AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE FROM THE U.S.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT

EARTHQUAKE.USGS.GOV/EARTHQUAKES -ALL LOWER CASE-.

* FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT MAY BE FOUND AT

PTWC.WEATHER.GOV AND AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.

* COASTAL REGIONS OF HAWAII... AMERICAN SAMOA... GUAM... AND

CNMI SHOULD REFER TO PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES

SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE PLACES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT

PTWC.WEATHER.GOV.

* COASTAL REGIONS OF CALIFORNIA... OREGON... WASHINGTON...

BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA SHOULD ONLY REFER TO U.S. NATIONAL

TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT

NTWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.