The infamous ring of fire with Chile in the east.
Australia is on a tsunami watch today after a massive earthquake measuring 8.8 in magnitude struck the coast of Chile killing at least 64 people.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre issued the warning earlier today for New South Wales, Queensland, Norfolk and Lord Howe Island after receiving information that the quake could trigger tsunami waves.
Any potential tsunami is feared to strike Australia’s coast at around 7.30am on Sunday, Australia time. Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island will be the first to be affected, followed by New South Wales and Queensland.
The reason for the warning is because the earthquake happened on the coast of Chile, sending strong tremors out to sea and triggering large waves. The Bureau of Meteorology have already observed such waves travelling across the Chilean coast and they are tracking their progress. However they do stress that the threat may not materialise into an actual tsunami: “at this stage we want to stress that there is no concern about land inundation” stated Duty Forecaster Jake Phillips, but he went on to add: “there is a marine threat and that would include anyone out boating or rock fishermen.”
Tsunamis are formed by sudden changes in the sea floor such as earthquakes, landslides or volcanic eruptions. The Pacific Ocean is particularly susceptible to such changes because of the large amount of underwater geological activity. The ‘Ring of Fire’ as it has been named, is a horseshoe-shaped area around the Pacific Ocean where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. There are around 452 volcanoes within this area and it is responsible for around 90% of the worlds earthquakes.
The earthquake that struck Chile occurred 70 miles north-east of the city of Concepcion, right on the coast. The town of Parral was the worst affected, being in the epicentre of the quake. The President has declared a state of catastrophe and appealed for calm. Coastal citizens are being asked to move to higher ground as the fear of aftershocks and tsunamis grew.
Other countries have also been issued with tsunami warnings, including Chile and Peru and tsunami watches are in place in Antarctica, Columbia, Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.
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