TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1427Z 25 DEC 2010

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

 VANUATU / NEW CALEDONIA / FIJI

FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS BULLETIN... IT IS FOR
INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME.

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

 ORIGIN TIME -  1317Z 25 DEC 2010
 COORDINATES -  19.7 SOUTH  168.0 EAST
 DEPTH       -   33 KM
 LOCATION    -  VANUATU ISLANDS
 MAGNITUDE   -  7.6

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

 GAUGE LOCATION        LAT   LON    TIME        AMPL         PER
 -------------------  ----- ------  -----  ---------------  -----
 VANUATU              17.8S 168.3E  1407Z   0.15M /  0.5FT  22MIN

 LAT  - LATITUDE (N-NORTH, S-SOUTH)
 LON  - LONGITUDE (E-EAST, W-WEST)
 TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT (Z IS UTC IS GREENWICH TIME)
 AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
        IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
        VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).
 PER  - PERIOD OF TIME IN MINUTES(MIN) FROM ONE WAVE TO THE NEXT.

EVALUATION

 SEA LEVEL READINGS CONFIRM THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. THIS
 TSUNAMI MAY HAVE BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTLINES OF THE REGION
 NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION SHOULD
 TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS POSSIBILITY. THIS
 CENTER WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR SEA LEVEL GAUGES NEAREST THE
 REGION AND REPORT IF ANY ADDITIONAL TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY. THE
 WARNING WILL NOT EXPAND TO OTHER AREAS OF THE PACIFIC UNLESS
 ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED TO WARRANT SUCH AN EXPANSION.

 FOR AFFECTED AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO
 HOURS AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE
 NOT OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN
 ASSUME THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL
 STRUCTURES CAN CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS.
 AS LOCAL CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE
 ACTION THE ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL
 AUTHORITIES.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS
WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

 LOCATION         FORECAST POINT     COORDINATES     ARRIVAL TIME
 --------------------------------    ------------    ------------
 VANUATU          ANATOM IS.         20.2S 169.9E    1338Z 25 DEC
                  ESPERITU SANTO     15.1S 167.3E    1404Z 25 DEC
 NEW CALEDONIA    NOUMEA             22.3S 166.5E    1359Z 25 DEC
 FIJI             SUVA               18.5S 178.5E    1512Z 25 DEC

BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.