Tsunami Warning Issued then retracted for Southern Australia

WTF ?

I just happened to go to the Australian Government Weather Beaureau website and came across the following -



Link here - www.bom.gov.au...

It looks like a big Tsunami warning was issue at some stage overnight but none of the news outlets have anything on it and Im still looking for some further information.

Did something happen?

Was there a large earthquake in the southern ocean? That is the only probable explanation. But Australia is such a geologically stable continent in comparison to other continents that makes you think was this for real?

Does anyone else have any info on this?

Or was this just a big mistake on the part of the weather beaureau?

LOL well I am in SA and I didnt' feel any big rumbles last night

AND I live on the coast. From the map you provide it says no threat..

? so hmm bit confused. Where did you hear of a threat?

I didnt hear of a threat, I just stumbled across the website and it said no longer a tsunami threat which mneans at some point in time there was.

My point is, something with a threat to that large an area, you would have thought would have made the news everwhere, would it not?

Well speaking for the weather bureau in the NT, and given there was an earthquake close to South Australia not long ago, its possible that the Tsunami warning was ligitimate, but retracted when the full magnitude of the earthquake was discovered to be below Tsunami intensity. Notice how the key to it indicates no threat to the coast?. Otherwise it was a test message that went out by accident

www.ga.gov.au...



[edit on 15/1/2009 by OzWeatherman]

It was probably because of this quake.

Large earthquake in the Kuril Islands January 15, 2009 at 17:49:39 UTC. Possibly related to that. No widespread tsunami was generated.

earthquake.usgs.gov...


(gotta learn to type faster)

[edit on 1/15/2009 by Phage]

I doubt it was for the Kuril earthquake considering its north of Japan and the alert was issued for South Australia. Tsunami wouldnt reach there.

Plus the Northern Territory Met Bureau (where I work) wouldve also had a Tsunami alert, but we never did. There was no threat to the coast either way if you read the map legend

I don't know how your system works, but if it is the same as here; they issue a general alert to the whole system and then refine it shortly after.

We have had two of those here in recent years that I recall. Anchorage is safe from them but places nearby are not. They ended up being measured in centimeters if I recall. I think its a better safe than sorry scenario. You must have a website there that explains it I'll bet.

Ozweatherman,

doesnt make sense does it?

looks like it must have been a mistake.

Lucky it was a "retracted warning" Imagine the panic here if there was an active warning with no news reports anywhere.

Originally posted by Melbourne_Militia
Ozweatherman,

doesnt make sense does it?

looks like it must have been a mistake.

Lucky it was a "retracted warning" Imagine the panic here if there was an active warning with no news reports anywhere.

Yeah definently, usually if there is a threat, we issue it, and if its substantial, it is placed on a TV crawler message and broadcast immediately. But yeah, up here in the NT I never got any message of one.

Maybe they were a bit rough on the location of the earthquake at first, and just covering all bases

...or maybe it was this quake that initially triggered the alarm?


USGS: Magnitude 6.7 - SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS
2009 January 15 07:27:21 UTC

Originally posted by Hellmutt
...or maybe it was this quake that initially triggered the alarm?


USGS: Magnitude 6.7 - SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS
2009 January 15 07:27:21 UTC

Still unlikely given the location of the great barrier reef. When I did my training for my job, we did a project on Tsunami risk and the great barrier reef protected half the east coast, but I suppose this one couldve been the one

Getting closer maybe?

reply to post by Hellmutt


with all due respect Helmutt, I think wvenb the loyalty island are too high up to affect the southern part of australia as much as the diagram in my first post showed.

The loyalty islands might affect the entire east coast if significant, but having a warning zone going upto South Australia would mean the cause must have been somewhere in the southern ocean between australia dn antarctica.

Correct me OZ weatherman if Im wrong.

Originally posted by Melbourne_Militia
reply to post by Hellmutt

 

with all due respect Helmutt, I think wvenb the loyalty island are too high up to affect the southern part of australia as much as the diagram in my first post showed.

The loyalty islands might affect the entire east coast if significant, but having a warning zone going upto South Australia would mean the cause must have been somewhere in the southern ocean between australia dn antarctica.

Correct me OZ weatherman if Im wrong.

Yeah thats what Im thinking

If South Australia and Melbourne are both affected, I would be checking the area around Macqaurie Island, which lies very close to an active fault line.

What state issued the warning? Do you know?

It was on the official Government Beareu of Metereology website.

I just checked and it has been taken off.