8.8 earthquake hits Chile; tsunami alert for Pacific

[Football_Bat]

One big-ass quake hits a few miles offshore at a depth of about 40 miles.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61Q0S920100227

Hawaii is on alert, as is Australia. I'm thinking it happened in shallow enough water that it won't be a 2004 repeat, but these things are tricky. Chile lies in a subduction zone, which means some big-time thrust with their quakes.

 

[deskslave]

Jeez. It's like the planet is really, really pissed off at us.

 

[TrooperBari]

Jeez. It's like the planet is really, really pissed off at us.

Can't imagine why. We're taking such good care of it.

 

[zagoshe]

THAT'S BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF HOMOS IN CHILE!!!! [\Pat Robertson]

 

[MileHigh]

My sister and brother-in-law just got to Honolulu yesterday. Called and woke them up about this.

 

[YankeeFan]

They're saying it's 500 times more powerful than Haiti. How is this possible? How could anything be standing?

Is it just because it was centered at a depth of 40 miles?

 

[MileHigh]

Yes. And it was underwater.

 

[wannabeu]

I have family and friends in Chile. Heard from most of them (through facebook and Skype) that they are fine, thank goodness. They have said that it was really scary and that some of the destruction has been massive in certain places. Really chaotic there. Hopefully, that is the worst of it and the rest of the Pacific Rim does not get him by tsunamis.

 

[TigerVols]

CNN is doing a crackerjack job of explaining the science behind the quake and tsunami. The meteorologist on duty this morning brought a friend in from GaTech who is an expert and the two of them spent 10 minutes playing around on the magic screen, giving lots of explanation.

Two things I've learned so far: 1. We don't use the Richter scale anymore and 2. "Breaking news" in Spanish must also be "Breaking News" because that's what the chyrons on the local Chile feeds show.

 

[TigerVols]

More interesting coverage here...

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

 

[TrooperBari]

I have family and friends in Chile. Heard from most of them (through facebook and Skype) that they are fine, thank goodness. They have said that it was really scary and that some of the destruction has been massive in certain places. Really chaotic there. Hopefully, that is the worst of it and the rest of the Pacific Rim does not get him by tsunamis.

Boy howdy.

 

[deskslave]

A former coworker just posted on FB that his son (at least I presume it's his son) is heading for higher ground with his kids.

 

[imjustagirl]

Friend of mine has family staying about 100 yards from the beach in Maui. It's not in the area expected to be hardest hit, and they've moved everyone to the 8th floor or higher just to be safer. He said they thought about driving inland further, but the traffic is obviously at a standstill.

This article makes it sound like it won't be too devastating. Two-three foot waves for most of the Hawaii islands.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/us/28warning.html

 

[93Devil]

They're saying it's 500 times more powerful than Haiti. How is this possible? How could anything be standing?

Is it just because it was centered at a depth of 40 miles?

Building codes.

 

[YankeeFan]

They're saying it's 500 times more powerful than Haiti. How is this possible? How could anything be standing?

Is it just because it was centered at a depth of 40 miles?

Building codes.

That can't explain it all. 500 to 1,000 times more powerful; that's hard to comprehend.

I'd have to think that if it had happened as close to a major city as Haiti's did, the destruction would be mammoth, regardless of building codes.

 

[deskslave]

The depth makes the biggest difference. If it's centered further down, the damage will be mitigated significantly.

 

[DanOregon]

I know there are buoys to detect tsunamis off US states, but you'd think there would be some satellite somewhere (or a boat or two) that is somewhere between Chile and Hawaii that could give the ocean a look see instead of just waiting three hours.

 

[93Devil]

I guess 4 p.m., EST will be a little tense for the people of Hawaii.

 

[Stitch]

They're saying it's 500 times more powerful than Haiti. How is this possible? How could anything be standing?

Is it just because it was centered at a depth of 40 miles?

Building codes.

That can't explain it all. 500 to 1,000 times more powerful; that's hard to comprehend.

I'd have to think that if it had happened as close to a major city as Haiti's did, the destruction would be mammoth, regardless of building codes.

The Richter scale is a logarithmic function. Which means a 2.0 quake is 10 times more powerful than a 1.0 quake. A 3.0 quake is 100 times more powerful than a 1.0 quake.

 

[ADodgen]

Is anyone watching the live feed from Waikiki beach on the Advertiser's site?