TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 2 NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI 0947 UTC THU MAY 28 2009 THIS MESSAGE APPLIES TO COUNTRIES WITHIN AND BORDERING THE CARIBBEAN SEA...EXCEPT FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. ... THE TSUNAMI WATCH IS CANCELLED ... 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 - 0825Z 28 MAY 2009 COORDINATES - 16.7 NORTH 86.3 WEST LOCATION - NORTH OF HONDURAS MAGNITUDE - 7.3 EVALUATION EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI WAVES...USUALLY WITHIN A HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER. THIS CENTER DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ANY REAL-TIME SEA LEVEL GAUGES IN THE REGION THAT WOULD BE USED TO QUICKLY DETECT AND EVALUATE THE TSUNAMI IF ONE WERE PRESENT. HOWEVER...ENOUGH TIME HAS PASSED THAT ANY NEARBY AREAS SHOULD ALREADY HAVE BEEN IMPACTED. THEREFORE THIS CENTER IS CANCELLING THE TSUNAMI WATCH IT ISSUED EARLIER.
FOR ANY AFFECTED AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES HAVE OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS AFTER THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES. THIS WILL BE THE FINAL PRODUCT ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE. -- Posted By Breaking News to BN at 5/28/2009 12:47:00 PM
