No Tsunami Expected in Hawaiʻi After Large Japan Quake

Japan quake 11/21/16. Image: USGS

(UPDATE: 1 p.m.,11:09 a.m. HST, Nov. 21, 2016)

There is no tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi after a (7.3M preliminary magnitude) 6.9M (magnitude updated by the USGS) earthquake reported at 11 a.m. HST on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016 near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says that based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi.

The USGS reports that the quake was located: 37.0 km (23.0 mi) ESE of Namie, Japan; 59.7 km (37.1 mi) NE of Iwaki, Japan; 73.3 km (45.6 mi) E of Funehikimachi-funehiki, Japan; 80.9 km (50.3 mi) SE of Marumori, Japan; and 91.7 km (57.0 mi) ESE of Fukushima, Japan.

As of 1:15 p.m., the PTWC said that based on all available data, the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed and hazardous tsunami waves are not expected anywhere outside of Japan.  Sea level fluctuations may continue along some coasts of Japan over the next few hours.

Below is a list of estimated arrival times of initial tsunami waves for places within threatened regions.  Actual arrival times may vary and the initial wave may not be the largest.  A tsunami is a series of waves and the time between waves can be five minutes to one hour.

Location        Region             Coordinates    ETA(UTC)
————————————————————
Katsuura         Japan             35.1N 140.3E   2150 11/21
Kushiro           Japan             42.9N 144.3E   2217 11/21
Hachinohe      Japan             40.5N 141.5E   2236 11/21
Shimizu          Japan             32.8N 133.0E   2312 11/21
Nobeoka        Japan              32.5N 131.8E   2319 11/21