Earthquake Information Statement for March 24th, 2020

Notice Level: Urgent (Information Statement Needed)

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake has triggered a Tsunami Watch for all shorelines for the Island of Hawaii until Tuesday evening (March 24th). Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is continuing to monitor data and will provide an update as more information becomes available.

We will provide an update as more information becomes available.

Published By: HIRSC Team - Weather Unit and Hawaii Island (Holualoa) Section

info@hiradioscannercommunity.com

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports a magnitude 7.8 (Moment, later downgraded to 7.5) earthquake has occurred in the region of Kuril Islands, Russia at 4:59 pm Hawaii Standard Time (HST) Tuesday afternoon.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is continuing to monitor the data being received from nearby buoys near the Kuril Island region and has issued a Tsunami Watch for all shorelines of Hawaii Island until further notice. PTWC will continue to monitor and says Tsunami Watch may be upgraded or downgraded once more definitive data has been received.

Data received from PTWC:

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS ISSUED FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII EFFECTIVE AT 0459 PM HST. AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ORIGIN TIME - 0449 PM HST 24 MAR 2020 COORDINATES - 49.0 NORTH 157.7 EAST LOCATION - EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS MAGNITUDE - 7.8 MOMENT EVALUATION BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A TSUNAMI MAY HAVE BEEN GENERATED BY THIS EARTHQUAKE THAT COULD BE DESTRUCTIVE ON COASTAL AREAS EVEN FAR FROM THE EPICENTER. AN INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS A TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. IF TSUNAMI WAVES IMPACT HAWAII THE ESTIMATED EARLIEST ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS 1042 PM HST TUE 24 MAR 2020 FURTHER MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT UNTIL THE THREAT TO HAWAII HAS PASSED.

Any further details or changes, we will provide updates as it becomes available.