Tsunami not yet detected: expert

Although the Bureau of Meteorology had issued a tsunami warning, at this stage a tsunami had not yet been detected, a University of Queensland geophysicist said this morning.

“This is the first such warning issued from the Tsunami Warning System, following a a large magnitude earthquake which the Bureau of Meteorology estimates was a magnitude 8.1,” Dr Dion Weatherley said.

“This is 30 times smaller than the Sumatra earthquake which generated the Boxing Day, 2004 tsunami.

“At this stage a tsunami has not yet been detected but we should know in the next hour or so from tide gauges. We should know by 10am.

“An earthquake of this size is capable of generating a tsunami of up to two metres, or not generating a tsunami at all.

“There is no cause for immediate alarm.”

Dr Weatherley is a research fellow in UQ’s Earth Systems Science Computational Centre (ESSCC).

The Centre is a world leader in understanding the earth's dynamics, working collaboratively with more than 40 prestigious national and international research centres, including NASA JPL, Tokyo University and Beijing University.

Media: Further information, Jan King 0413 601 248 or 07 3365 1120.