The Flores quake triggers a tsunami warning as Hurricane Lala puts Hawaii on alert
A magnitude 7.7 quake off Flores put four Indonesian provinces under tsunami warning, while strengthening Hurricane Lala triggered a warning for Hawaii's Big Island. Both hazards compress the time available for preparation.
Science··Evening
A magnitude 7.7 quake off Flores and a tsunami warning
The US Geological Survey placed the Saturday morning quake 68 km north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara, at a depth of 10 km, and gave the magnitude as 7.7. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued tsunami warnings for East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi. Phys.org, carrying The Associated Press, reported homes and public buildings damaged, with no casualty figures when the story was filed. A resident of Sikka, Yohanna Embu, said the waiting room at the Maumere port terminal had collapsed, and damage was confirmed at the St. Peter Major Seminary. Shallow depth makes a quake of this size dangerous close to shore: less rock lies between the rupture and the seabed, so more of the motion reaches the water. Covering four provinces extends the coastal risk beyond one port town and opens a preparedness line from the Flores offshore zone into Sulawesi. A shallow focus shortens the warning window, so residents and harbour operators must track structural damage and possible inundation in the same morning.[1]
Hurricane and tropical storm warnings as Lala strengthens near Hawaii
Phys.org, receiving the account through AFP, reported that Tropical Storm Lala, with gusts reaching 137 kilometres an hour, was expected to reach the Big Island on Saturday. Hawaii County was under a hurricane warning, with tropical storm warnings for Maui, Molokai and Kahoolawe. Forecasters expected about 30 centimetres of rain across Maui and the Big Island, reaching about 64 centimetres in places, with a storm surge of 0.3 to 0.9 metres and rough conditions into Sunday. Governor Josh Green and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi both spoke about preparations. NOAA puts the chance at 69 per cent that the El Nino now building will exceed every event since 1950 when it peaks between October and December, and notes that El Nino conditions tend to encourage Pacific hurricanes while damping them in the Atlantic. Since Iniki struck in 1992 and killed at least six people, Hawaii has not been hit by a Category 3 or stronger hurricane. That history helps explain why Lala's track and warning steps rose so quickly: the interval between offshore strengthening and arrival at the Big Island forces evacuation and harbour measures into the same weekend.[2]
Two ocean hazards compress the same weekend of preparation
Warnings off Flores and around Hawaii converged on the same weekend. In Indonesia, a four-province tsunami warning, port-terminal damage and a shallow focus brought possible inundation onto the same morning agenda as the shaking. Around Hawaii, Lala's gusts of 137 kilometres an hour, a Big Island hurricane warning and a 0.3-to-0.9-metre storm-surge outlook packed rain and wave risk into the Saturday–Sunday span. NOAA's El Nino assessment supplies seasonal context: the event now building has a 69 per cent chance of exceeding every event since 1950 when it peaks between October and December, and such conditions tend to encourage Pacific hurricanes. That seasonal view works at a broader scale than the track forecast for Lala and shows why preparations around Hawaii cover several hazards. At both coasts, the decisive constraint is the short interval between warning and possible arrival. Off Flores, a shallow quake released energy close to the seabed; Lala was strengthening offshore and expected near the Big Island on Saturday. Shelter, movement away from shore and harbour decisions therefore had to be made within the warning day.[1], [2]
