Wish Australia luck

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:14 pm

There has been an earthquake off the Solomon islands. A warning has just been issued that a Tsunami may be on its way to Northern Queensland (Queensland is my state), striking Cairns in an hour and twenty minutes and Mackay at 11.40am. I hope it's nothing.

This is not an April Fools joke.

Post by **Seareach** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:22 pm

Brilliant! I just saw the alert now. Should I head to higher ground! BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!! I think I'm ok...are we ok...why do I live so close to the beach!!!!

EDIT: oh no...I'm ok (I think...hehehehe!). Far North Queensland. You might even be safe Lore!!!

Post by **Vain** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:46 pm

Hmmm....

www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/messages.php?region=0

Post by **Seareach** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:54 pm

Cool site! And I'm down the bottom of Oz so....!

Although, I think our news services has probably caused a wonderful amount of hysteria amongst the population. Nothing like seeing "TSUNAMI ALERT" flashed up on the screen to make you get motivated in the morning!

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:58 pm

If it hits where I live, this will be me after being deluged by seawater:

Post by **Vain** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:05 pm

Hahaha !

Post by **Seareach** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:06 pm

If only, Lore! If only...!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:09 pm

I live in hope . . . .

Post by **Seareach** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:11 pm

Loremaster wrote:I live in hope . . . .

Awh...sorry Lore! Not a nice thing to say to a man who may have the ocean lapping at his doorstep in an hour or two!

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:12 pm

No, it wont reach this far south in Queensland. Also, I live high above sea level.

Post by **balon!** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:13 am

Wwhat severity can you guys be expecting?

Evacuations? Or are they just handing out rainboots.

Post by **Seareach** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:49 am

Balon wrote:Wwhat severity can you guys be expecting?

Evacuations? Or are they just handing out rainboots.

Apart from the natural widespread panic ("watch out, tsunami coming your way"...after boxing day 2005 that kinda brings with it certain "OMG" responses), they're now saying that apart from possible dangerous seas (strong water currents) there's nothing much to worry about. I think a 20cm fall/rise was detected.

Post by **Wyldewode** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 5:08 am

Be safe, my friends down under. . .

Post by **Loredoctor** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 5:13 am

Good news - there was no Tsunami, just a slight rising of sea level along the water front.

Post by **matrixman** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 5:31 am

Hadn't watched the news at all today. I just saw this thread. Glad our colleagues downunder are okay!

Post by **Elfgirl** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:26 am

We're on the RIGHT side of the continent for a change!!

Post by **Avatar** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:33 am

Solomon Islanders weren't so lucky.

Tsunami wipes out
entire communities

Honira - The tsunami that smashed into the western province of the Solomon Islands early on Monday was between three and five metres high and wiped out entire communities, witnesses said.

"Water is coming up and destroyed all the housing along the coastal areas of Gizo," an unnamed eyewitness told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"I think it is more than five metres."

8.0-magnitude quake

The wall of water, triggered by a 8.0-magnitude earthquake, swamped the town of Gizo, the capital of the western province popular with tourists for its pristine beaches and diving, locals reported.

Robert Iroga, editor of the Solomon Star newspaper, said it was too early to put a death toll on the disaster but that he had received reports from locals that bodies were "floating in the sea" in one area.

He said reports indicated one island close to the provincial airport had been totally covered by the wave.

"Unconfirmed reports we receive seem to suggest that the island was entirely washed away and people are floating in the sea. That's a report I have from people on the ground there."

Thousands could be affected

Iroga, who is based in Honiara, said thousands of people could be affected by the tsunami.

"It's a time of year when a lot of people are staying in the villages, the schools are on a break," he told ABC radio.

Kerrie Kennedy, an Australian who lives in the Solomons, said she had spoken to her husband in Gizo who said the town had been badly damaged by the tsunami.

"I don't know exactly where it went, but I heard one description of a 10-foot wave that had gone through," she told Australian Associated Press.

"There are houses destroyed - our next door neighbour's house has been flattened, whereas our house hasn't been.

"I don't think there's anyone who hasn't been affected by it," she said.

Aftershocks

Kennedy, currently on holiday in Australia, said people were now afraid to return to their homes because of the persistent aftershocks with a magnitude of up to 6.7.

"The earthquake hasn't stopped. It's still shaking now," she said.

"Most people are actually not willing to go into their houses at the moment, they're sitting outside because they're just waiting to see what happens."

The Solomons government was on Monday attempting to survey the damage to the remote western province where residents live in daily fear of tsunamis.

Reports indicate people felt the quake and immediately feared a giant wave.

"People found out the sea was moving away and the shoreline was dry, and then people realised there would be a problem. Not long after that, those waves came back again," chief government spokesperson Alfred Maesulia told CNN.

--A

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:18 am

Holy... How far are the Somonoms from Australia. Is everybody here ok?

Post by **Avatar** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:27 am

About 1200 miles.

--A

Post by **Seareach** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:28 am

Yeah, we're all ok here!

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