Latest Tsunami warning system Stories
TOKYO (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake jolted Tokyo and its vicinity on Sunday afternoon, causing buildings in the capital to shake, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage. Japan's Meteorological Agency said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 and was centred in southern Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo. The earthquake's focus was 40 km (25 miles) underground. The quake set off alarms in convenience stores and left displays of goods...
HONOLULU (AP) -- University of Hawaii scientists want to study how local residents and authorities would respond to the state's tsunami siren warning system in the event a killer wave was approaching the islands. The study aims to identify the best way to educate residents about official warnings and teach them about natural signs preceding a tsunami, such as earthquakes and extreme tidal changes. Emergency management officials have "overrated" the public's level of preparedness and...
TOKYO (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 jolted northern Japan on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said. The quake occurred at 11:29. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
PERTH -- Indian Ocean nations agreed on Friday to share real-time seismic data, despite some security sensitivities, and to set up seven regional tsunami warning centers instead of one.The agreements were announced at the end of the inaugural meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System in the western Australian city of Perth.India has dropped its initial reluctance to sharing real-time seismic data, said Harsh Gupta, who heads...
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Disaster early warning towers will be in place across southeast Asia in time for the first anniversary of the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people, the United Nations said Friday. The U.N Development Program said it would build five equipment-packed monitoring towers off the coasts of Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines with the help of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC). The $500,000 project should minimise the risk of...
VENTURA, Calif. -- The tiny wave generated by a major undersea earthquake off the far Northern California coast last month revealed large gaps in how ready communities hugging the Pacific shoreline are for a true tsunami threat. Although the alert was canceled about an hour after blaring sirens warned some towns of a could-be killer wave that never arrived, the effects of the magnitude-7.2 quake are still rattling emergency planners. Some residents received no warning on the evening of June...
EWA BEACH, Hawaii (AP) -- Tsunami experts could not understand why Monday's forceful earthquake off Indonesia failed to produce massive waves similar to those generated by the Dec. 26 quake that killed at least 175,000 people in the same region. A magnitude 8.7 quake shook Indonesia's west coast, killing hundreds of people and spreading panic that another devastating tsunami was on the way. There was no tsunami, but a small wave was detected by a tide gauge on Cocos Island near Australia,...
KOBE, Japan (AP) -- Hawaii is among the most tsunami-ready places in the world. When an alert is issued, beachside sirens go off and urgent messages are flashed on television and broadcast on radio. Evacuation maps on telephone book covers point people to higher ground. But most of the time, no damaging tsunami hits the shore. The Pacific Ocean early warning system's high false alarm rate - estimated at 75 percent - is getting more attention these days as experts and nations work to extend...
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Scientists predict killer tsunamis could strike the Caribbean, which lacks a warning system even though its seabed is gouged by some of the world's deepest trenches, where the giant waves can be generated by tectonic activity, and its low-lying islands are heavily populated along their coastlines. The last tsunami struck the Caribbean in 1946, before island populations skyrocketed, major construction dotted shorelines and the region developed into a prized...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States is moving on several fronts toward a global tsunami warning system following the Asian catastrophe. A design is emerging from the State Department's Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) for protecting huge populations in coastal areas, and will be presented to the United Nations-sponsored World Conference on Disaster Reduction this month in Kobe, Japan. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., is proposing legislation to have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
