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000
WEPA40 PHEB 051623
TSUPAC

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 003
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1623Z 05 SEP 2012

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

NO CHANGE FROM THE PREVIOUS BULLETIIN. WAITING FOR SEA LEVEL
READINGS.

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

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

 COSTA RICA / PANAMA / NICARAGUA

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 -  1442Z 05 SEP 2012
 COORDINATES -   9.9 NORTH   85.5 WEST
 DEPTH       -   46 KM
 LOCATION    -  OFF COAST OF COSTA RICA
 MAGNITUDE   -  7.6

EVALUATION

 IT IS NOT KNOWN THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED.  THIS WARNING IS
 BASED ONLY ON THE EARTHQUAKE EVALUATION. AN EARTHQUAKE OF THIS
 SIZE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THAT CAN
 STRIKE COASTLINES IN THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN MINUTES
 TO HOURS. 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
 TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY IS OBSERVED. THE WARNING WILL NOT EXPAND
 TO OTHER AREAS OF THE PACIFIC UNLESS ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED
 TO WARRANT SUCH AN EXPANSION.

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
 --------------------------------    ------------    ------------
 COSTA RICA       CABO_SAN_ELENA     10.9N 274.0E    1510Z 05 SEP
                  PUERTO_QUEPOS       9.4N 275.8E    1518Z 05 SEP
                  CABO_MATAPALO       8.4N 276.7E    1536Z 05 SEP
 PANAMA           PUNTA_BURICA        8.0N 277.1E    1527Z 05 SEP
                  PUNTA_MALA          7.5N 280.0E    1615Z 05 SEP
                  PUERTO_PINA         7.4N 282.0E    1631Z 05 SEP
                  BALBOA_HTS.         9.0N 280.4E    1742Z 05 SEP
 NICARAGUA        SAN_JUAN_DL_SUR    11.2N 274.1E    1531Z 05 SEP
                  PUERTO_SANDINO     12.2N 273.2E    1550Z 05 SEP
                  CORINTO            12.5N 272.8E    1546Z 05 SEP

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.