000 WEPA40 PHEB 270458 TSUPAC TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002 PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS ISSUED AT 0458Z 27 AUG 2012 THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA... WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA. THIS EARTHQUAKE APPEARS TO BE A SLOW EARTHQUAKE WITH ADDITIONAL TSUNAMI POTENTIAL. THEREFORE A WARNING IS BEING ISSUED. ... A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ... A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA / EL SALVADOR / HONDURAS / GUATEMALA / PANAMA / MEXICO FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS BULLETIN... IT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME. 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 - 0437Z 27 AUG 2012 COORDINATES - 12.7 NORTH 88.5 WEST DEPTH - 54 KM LOCATION - OFF COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA MAGNITUDE - 7.3 EVALUATION IT IS NOT KNOWN THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. THIS WARNING IS BASED ONLY ON THE EARTHQUAKE EVALUATION. AN EARTHQUAKE OF THIS SIZE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THAT CAN STRIKE COASTLINES IN THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN MINUTES TO HOURS. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION SHOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS POSSIBILITY. THIS CENTER WILL MONITOR SEA LEVEL GAUGES NEAREST THE REGION AND REPORT IF ANY TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY IS OBSERVED. THE WARNING WILL NOT EXPAND TO OTHER AREAS OF THE PACIFIC UNLESS ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED TO WARRANT SUCH AN EXPANSION. ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS 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 SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR. LOCATION FORECAST POINT COORDINATES ARRIVAL TIME -------------------------------- ------------ ------------ COSTA RICA CABO_SAN_ELENA 10.9N 274.0E 0526Z 27 AUG PUERTO_QUEPOS 9.4N 275.8E 0553Z 27 AUG CABO_MATAPALO 8.4N 276.7E 0555Z 27 AUG NICARAGUA CORINTO 12.5N 272.8E 0532Z 27 AUG PUERTO_SANDINO 12.2N 273.2E 0539Z 27 AUG SAN_JUAN_DL_SUR 11.2N 274.1E 0551Z 27 AUG EL SALVADOR ACAJUTLA 13.6N 270.2E 0543Z 27 AUG HONDURAS AMAPALA 13.2N 272.4E 0556Z 27 AUG GUATEMALA SIPICATE 13.9N 268.8E 0559Z 27 AUG PANAMA PUNTA_BURICA 8.0N 277.1E 0605Z 27 AUG PUNTA_MALA 7.5N 280.0E 0652Z 27 AUG BALBOA_HTS. 9.0N 280.4E 0912Z 27 AUG MEXICO PUERTO_MADERO 14.8N 267.5E 0606Z 27 AUG BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT. THE TSUNAMI WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.
