000
WECA41 PHEB 122244
TSUCAX

TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER   2
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
2254 UTC TUE JAN 12 2010

THIS MESSAGE APPLIES TO COUNTRIES WITHIN AND BORDERING THE
CARIBBEAN SEA...EXCEPT FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

... A LOCAL TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR

 HAITI / CUBA / BAHAMAS / DOMINICAN REP

FOR OTHER AREAS OF THE CARIBBEAN COVERED BY THIS MESSAGE...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 -  2153Z 12 JAN 2010
 COORDINATES -  18.5 NORTH   72.5 WEST
 LOCATION    -  HAITI REGION
 MAGNITUDE   -  7.1

NOTE: MAGNITUDE IS REDUCED FROM 7.3 TO 7.1

THERE ARE NO SEA LEVEL READINGS YET FOR THIS EVENT.  READINGS
FROM THE NEAREST GAUGES SHOULD BE RECEIVED WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR.

EVALUATION

 A DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT DOES NOT EXIST BASED ON
 HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

 HOWEVER - THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF A LOCAL TSUNAMI THAT
 COULD AFFECT COASTS LOCATED USUALLY NO MORE THAN A HUNDRED
 KILOMETERS FROM THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES FOR THE
 REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY.
 AREAS FURTHER FROM THE EPICENTER COULD EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA
 LEVEL CHANGES AND STRONG OR UNUSUAL COASTAL CURRENTS.

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
 --------------------------------    ------------    ------------
 HAITI            JEREMIE            18.6N  74.1W    2215Z 12 JAN
                  PORT-AU-PRINCE     18.5N  72.4W    2228Z 12 JAN
                  CAP-HAITEN         19.8N  72.2W    2246Z 12 JAN
 CUBA             BARACOA            20.4N  74.5W    2240Z 12 JAN
 BAHAMAS          GREAT INAGUA       20.9N  73.7W    2237Z 12 JAN
 DOMINICAN REP    PUERTO PLATA       19.8N  70.7W    2256Z 12 JAN
                  SANTO DOMINGO      18.5N  69.9W    2328Z 12 JAN

ADDITIONAL BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER FOR THIS EVENT AS MORE INFORMATION
BECOMES AVAILABLE.