Posted on 09/08/2002 4:53:30 PM PDT by 2sheep
The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center: A major earthquake occurred about 60 miles (95 km) west-northwest of Wewak, New Guinea, Papua New Guinea or about 520 miles (840 km) northwest of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea at 12:44 PM MDT today, Sep 8, 2002 (Sep 09 at 4:44 AM local time in Papua New Guinea). A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.5 WAS COMPUTED FOR THIS EARTHQUAKE. The magnitude and location may be revised when additional
data and further analysis results are available. No reports of damage or casualties have been received at this time; however, this earthquake may have caused substantial damage and casualties due to its location and size. For additional information, see the USGS NEIC web page
NEIC: Near Real Time Earthquake List [Also note many other quakes around the Pacific Rim.]
Updated as of Sun Sep 8 19:49:28 UTC 2002.
DATE-(UTC)-TIME Latitude Longitude Depth Magnitude Q COMMENTS
yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss degrees degrees km
2002/09/08 18:44:26 3.23S 142.87E 33.0 7.5 A NEAR N COAST NEW GUINEA, PNG.
USGS NEIC: Earthquake Bulletin: NEAR N COAST NEW GUINEA, PNG.
Stay Safe !
I think large quakes in the past have affected coasts on the opposite side of the plate. This is the Pacific plate. I wonder if Hawaii is on alert.
...THIS TSUNAMI ADVISORY BULLETIN IS FOR ALASKA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA ONLY...
NO - REPEAT NO - WATCH OR WARNING IS IN EFFECT. EARTHQUAKE DATA: PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE: 7.7 LOCATION: 3.3S 143.1E - NEAR N COAST OF NEW GUINEA, PNG. TIME: 1044 ADT 09/08/2002 1144 PDT 09/08/2002 1844 UTC 09/08/2002
EVALUATION: BASED ON THE LOCATION, MAGNITUDE AND HISTORICAL RECORDS, THE EARTHQUAKE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO GENERATE A TSUNAMI DAMAGING TO CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON, BRITISH COLUMBIA OR ALASKA. SOME AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES.
A FEW SELECTED ETA'S FOLLOW FOR INFORMATION AND REFERENCE: LA JOLLA, CA 0215 PDT SEP 9 TOFINO, BC 0135 PDT SEP 9 SAN FRANCISCO,CA 0149 PDT SEP 9 SITKA, AK 2331 ADT SEP 8 CRESCENT CITY,CA 0123 PDT SEP 9 KODIAK, AK 2250 ADT SEP 8 NEAH BAY, WA 0141 PDT SEP 9 SHEMYA, AK 1947 ADT SEP 8 THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER AT EWA BEACH, HAWAII WILL ISSUE BULLETINS FOR OTHER AREAS OF THE PACIFIC. BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY TO KEEP YOU INFORMED OF THE PROGRESS OF THIS EVENT UNTIL THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER ISSUES A CANCELLATION OR FINAL BULLETIN. REFER TO THE INTERNET SITE HTTP://WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV FOR MORE INFORMATION. [TSUWCA / WEPA41 PAAQ 1031516869] EDIS-09-08-02 1327 PDT
The latest report (above) calls it a 7.7 quake. Very high number! Perhaps deep enough not to knock down skyscrapers, but they don't have any. I'm sure that New Guinea huts, canoes, etc. were destroyed in great numbers. Prayers for the natives.
Tectonic Setting and Volcanoes of Papua New Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon Islands
USGS NEIC: Historical Seismicity: NEAR N COAST NEW GUINEA, PNG.
And for the missionaries in the area. Some are friends of mine.
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