NPR 2010-02-28

The death toll 1 is up to 147 from one of the strongest earthquakes to ever hit Chile. The government says the 8.8-magnitude earthquake left central Chile in the state of catastrophe 2. But the ambassador to the US, Jose Goni, says his country is on top of things. “In general, the country is relatively 3 very well prepared for this kind of a situations. The public sector 4 that is already reacting, the president, Michelle Bachelet, from the very beginning, was in charge of the situation.” President Obama says the US stands ready to help Chile, but the US’s immediate 5 concern is the tsunami 6 that’s been triggered by that quake. A warning is in effect in countries around the Pacific Rim 7 with less severe alerts issued for parts of California, as Bob Hensley of Capital Public Radio reports.

An advisory 8 is the lowest level alert issued by the Weather Service. It means it could be strong currents and wave fluctuations 9 of up to two feet. The most vulnerable places are beaches, harbors and bays. Along with the advisory, the Weather Service started spreading the word for people to stay away from the coast during the afternoon hours. The surges which could last as long as 30 minutes in duration are expected to reach Northern California around 1:30 local time. According to a statement from the US Geological Survey, the Coast Guard is encouraging those who live and work along waterfront to take extra precautions in preparation for the possibility of a surge. Operators of boats are being advised to secure their vessel 10 and make sure that rough waters won’t result in sources of pollution. For NPR News, I’m Bob Hensley.

Sirens are blaring across Hawaii which is expecting potentially deadly tsunami waves within hours. Geophysicist Victor Sardina of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says people need to avoid the coastline. “We want people to take it seriously and stay away from the coastline. If you cannot go, if you need not leave the inundation 11 zone, and for some reason, you cannot get away from the inundation zone, go high up.” Meanwhile, Navy’s pulling all the seaworthy craft out of Pearl Harbor.

Lawmakers this week say Toyota is agreeing to face parliamentarians in Canada to face questions about safety. Dan Karpenchuk reports.

The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants the Committee on Transport, Infrastructure 12 and Communities to conduct hearings into the Toyota recall when Parliament resumes at the beginning of March. Opposition 13 parties are supporting the move so that Canadian lawmakers can pose questions directly to Toyota officials as soon as possible. The head of the committee says he’s very concerned that Canadian families have been exposed to potentially unsafe vehicles. The questions facing the automaker are: how did this happen, how did the defect go undetected and what can be done to prevent the recurrence 14. Two hundred and seventy thousand Toyota vehicles were recalled in Canada and 8.5 million worldwide. The company launched a media campaign in Canada this week to reassure 15 consumers it’s working hard to alleviate 16 any concerns. For NPR News, I’m Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

Killer 17 whale shows are now back on at SeaWorld, Orlando, although there are some noticeable changes. Trainers are now banned from being in the water with orcas after one of their colleagues was killed on Wednesday. Dawn Brancheau drowned when Tilikum, the killer whale, grabbed the trainer’s ponytail and pulled her underwater.

The final snowboarding race of the Winter Games in Vancouver is today, the parallel giant slalom. The USA has won five snowboarding medals so far, but NPR’s Dianna Douglas notes the US is an underdog in this final race.

Two snowboarders at a time race downhill in the parallel giant slalom, while they will speed around gates at about 40 miles an hour. This is not one of those X Game style races where everyone crashes into each other. It’s a good thing for the US’s Chris Klug. At 37, he’s back for his third Olympics and he’s something of a senior statesman for snowboarding. He competed in 1998 when it first became an Olympic sport and says he’s seen snowboarding come a long way. “You know, I’ve been involved in snowboarding now for about 27 years. I started on the old Burton Backhill, no metal edges and bungee-strapped bindings and moon boots lots of productive back then.” Chris Klug is also the only athlete to have won an Olympic medal after an organ transplant. He received a donor 18 liver in 2000 and won a bronze in the snowboard parallel giant slalom in Salt Lake in 2002. Dianna Douglas, NPR News, Vancouver.

In the US, utility crews are slowly restoring power to the more than one million homes and businesses that went dark during this week’s winter storm in the Northeast. New Hampshire bore the brunt of the power outages; more than a quarter million customers lost electricity.

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.