An earthquake occurred this afternoon (11/03/2011) at about 1726hrs local Fiji time in the regions of Japan which finally triggered a tsunami with the following parameters:
Magnitude: 8.9
Date Time: 11 March 2011
Location: 38.32N 142.369 E
Depth: 15.2miles
Region: Japan Region
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre through the Department of Mineral Resources has issued a wide spread Pacific tsunami warning including Fiji.
It is estimated that the time of arrival of the first wave to Fiji Coastlines is: 3.00am Saturday morning (12/3/2011).
The following areas are hereby WARNED to start moving to higher grounds:
· The North western Coast of Viti-Levu and Vanua Levu
· The Yasawa, Malolo and Mamanuca Groups and
· The smaller islands including the Lau Group and Kadavu
Tsunami ALERT is given for the rest of Fiji.
The general public especially those living along the Western coastlines are warned to take heed of this advice and take precautionary measures on the possibility of severe tsunami waves.
The rest of Fiji is advised to keep listening to the radio for further developments.
The communities living along the coastlines are requested to contact the following numbers if they observe any sudden change to the tide patterns:
3319250
3318078
9495507
9031385
9238825
The National Emergency Operation Centre will be monitoring the situation until further notice.