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News and Science
To top  Tsunami signs to help action plan
tvnz.co.nz - May 28, 2008 - Tsunami warning signs will soon be placed around the coastline
as the government prepares for any future tidal wave emergency.
| To top Mangroves Stop Tsunami
EcoWorld.com - May 15, 2008 - Back in April 2005 we published the feature “Mangroves Stop Tsunami,” which explained that much of the devastation from the tsunami that struck South
East Asia in December 2004 could have been avoided if the mangrove forests hadn’t been ripped out to make room for aquaculture and timber.
| To top Tsunami quake may have had a hand in latest disaster
smh.com - May 14, 2008 - FORCES that triggered the earthquake in China on Monday may have been born in the geological event that triggered the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, killing more than 230,000 people, an Australian seismologist says.
| To top Most of the tsunami victims still live in shacks
The Hindu - May 04, 2008 - PORT BLAIR: Over three years after the tsunami nearly flattened
parts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, rehabilitation work is
still on. Its progress seems slower than in other parts of the
country.
| To top CI in tsunami warning system
Cayman Islands - March 26, 2008 - The Cayman Islands will benefit from the establishment of a
Caribbean–wide tsunami warning system, but those involved with the
project here are cautioning that the system should not lull anyone into a
false sense of security.
| To top THE TSUNAMI PROVOKED BY THE MOUNT ETNA 8000 YEARS
CataniaCultura.com - March 25, 2008 - How show the studies of the INGV of Pisa, about the 6000 B. C. the east side of the Etna fell into the sea and provoked a tsunami so powerful that devastated not only Sicily and South-Italy, but the entire East Mediterranean.
| To top New tsunami warning system may save lives
earthsky.org - March 24, 2008 - In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami claimed the lives of tens of thousands of
people, who didn’t have time to evacuate to higher ground.
Tony Song and his colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California are developing a new warning system they say would quickly alert coastal dwellers that a tsunami might be coming. It uses GPS technology to detect the horizontal motion of the sea floor.
| To top India might have experienced tsunamis throughout the centuries
Asian News International - March 20, 2008 - Washington, March 20: Scientists have suggested that the catastrophic
Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 that killed 230,000 people, was
not a one time occurrence as the people of Tamil Nadu in India likely
experienced tsunamis periodically through the centuries.
| To top Undersea tsunami threat
The Dominion Post - March 16, 2008 - Evidence of a massive undersea landslide has been found less than 15 kilometres from Wellington airport, raising fears another slip could trigger a devastating tsunami.
| To top The 1,700 feet Tsunami that Struck Alaska
Environmental News - March 15, 2008 - On the night of July 7th, 1958 the world’s largest Tsunami struck Lituya bay, located about 250 miles west of Juneau. It was 1,700 feet or 520 meters, almost twice the height of the Eiffel Tower.
The Tsunami happened immediately after a magnitude 8.3 earthquake caused an enormous landslide along the Fairweather Fault. The resulting crash of rock into water, caused the largest wall of water in human history. The deadly wave hurtled at jet speeds and wiped out everything within a four mile radius.
| To top Caribbean Region awaits UNESCO backing for tsunami system
Caribbean360.com - March 14, 2008 - PANAMA CITY, Panama,March 14, 2008 - The Caribbean region is hoping to be a step closer to putting an independent tsunami early warning system in place by 2010, as it awaits a United Nations-backed coordination group to give the go-ahead for a regional data-sharing system.
| To top Coral Sea buoy to boost tsunami warning
news.com.au - March 14, 2008 - A TSUNAMI detection buoy has been placed in the Coral Sea, lifting
Australia's capacity to answer an immediate threat from the oceanic
phenomenon.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the buoy was now
operational and monitoring changes in sea levels for signs of potential
threat from the South Solomon and New Hebrides trenches to the east
coast of Australia.
| To top Strong quake hits Indonesia's Aceh
abc.net.au - February 22, 2008 -
A strong 7.5-magnitude earthquake has struck Indonesia's Sumatra island, the US Geological Survey
said.
The earthquake struck at 3:08pm (local time) some 42 kilometres north-west of Sinabang in Aceh province, at a
depth under the sea of 30 kilometres.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a local watch bulletin, saying there was no threat of a
"destructive widespread tsunami" but that a local tsunami could affect coastal areas within a 100-kilometre
radius.... ...but has since lifted the warning.
| To top Strong quake hits hits near Indonesia's Aceh
thestar.com.my - February 22, 2008 - JAKARTA (Reuters) - A quake measuring 6.6 on the Richter
scale struck off Indonesia's Aceh province on Wednesday, the
meteorology and geophysics agency said, but there were no
reports of deaths or casualties and no local tsunami warning
was issued.
| To top Mega-tsunami theory disputed
Herald Sun - February 03, 2008 - Supposed evidence Australia has been subject to prehistoric tsunamis up to 20m in height over the past 10,000 years could just be the result of Aboriginal occupation, a major conference is set to hear tomorrow. Archaeologists from the Australian National University say the theory about the mega-tsunamis, which has influenced the development of emergency service plans in Western Australia, is not supported by evidence.
In 2003 Australian geological researchers suggested prehistoric tsunamis over the past 10,000 years were much larger than those recorded since European settlement, including findings of surges up to 20m in height affecting a 2500km stretch of the WA coast. “Our field work would suggest that the shell and coral deposits found high on headlands in WA or further inland are evidence of Aboriginal occupation of the area, and not deposits of mega-tsunamis or other major inundations,” ANU researcher Dr Tony Barham said. ...
| To top Making (accurate predictions of) waves
Physorg.com - January 29, 2008 - A new review of tsunami hazards concludes that the 2004 catastrophe was far from the worst possible in many Indian Ocean borderlands - and notes that warning systems to guard at-risk populations are still lagging. ...
| To top Tsunami Linked to Yellowstone Crater
Physorg.com - January 22, 2008 - Tsunami-like waves created by an earthquake may have triggered the world's largest known hydrothermal explosion some 13,000 years ago, a federal scientist says.
The explosion created the Mary Bay crater that stretches more than one mile across along the north edge of Yellowstone Lake. Debris from the explosion has been found miles away.
Lisa Morgan of the U.S. Geological Survey told a gathering of scientists over the weekend at Mammoth Hot Springs that an earthquake may have displaced more than 77 million cubic feet of water in Yellowstone Lake, creating huge waves that essentially unsealed a capped geothermal system. Though much has been made in recent years of a possible eruption of Yellowstone's "super volcano," geologists studying the park have long said that the likelihood is greater for a large hydrothermal explosion. ...
| To top Did a Tsunami Wipe Out a Cradle of Western Civilization?
Discover - January 04, 2008 - The effects of the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 are only too well known: It knocked the hell out of Aceh Province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, leveling buildings, scattering palm trees, and wiping out entire villages. It killed more than 160,000 people in Aceh alone and displaced millions more. Similar scenes of destruction were repeated along the coasts of Southeast Asia, India, and as far west as Africa. The magnitude of the disaster shocked the world.
What the world did not know was that the 2004 tsunami—seemingly so unprecedented in scale—would yield specific clues to one of the great mysteries of archaeology: What or who brought down the Minoans, the remarkable Bronze Age civilization that played a central role in the development of Western culture? ...
| To top Tsunami threat to L.A., Long Beach ports studied - A major disruption could cost $1 billion a day
Los Angeles Times - December 14, 2007 - Concerned about the threat a tsunami could pose to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a state agency agreed Thursday to launch a study of potential risk to the busy ports in light of nearly $10 million in damage caused last year by wild, tsunami-driven currents that hit the harbor of Crescent City. The study, which will cost the state about $50,000, is needed because a major disruption to operations at the container ports, the busiest in the country, could cost the national economy $1 billion a day, said Eddie Bernard, director of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [...]
Bernard said the risk may prove low from tsunamis spawned by earthquakes in the ocean, but the science exists to let port officials know ahead of time whether they would be subject to water surges and damaging currents. "I think it's clear that from a local tsunami you would have problems, but from a distant tsunami that's an unanswered question," Bernard said. "Why take a chance, when we have the tools, when we have the technology? Why not explore it?" Deep-water buoys set up by the NOAA allowed officials to give Crescent City at least six hours warning that it could be affected by a tsunami after a magnitude-8.1 earthquake struck near the Kuril Islands off Russia in November 2006. Scientists warned that the city of about 7,500 residents just south of the Oregon border would be flooded by a surge of water. No flood occurred, but currents spawned by the tsunami action roiled the harbor, damaging boats and piers. ...
| To top Southern Taiwan most vulnerable to tsunamis: study
Taipei Times - December 07, 2007 - The southwest and northeast coasts of the country are the most vulnerable to tsunamis in the event of a strong underwater earthquake occurring in the South China Sea, according to the results of a study released yesterday. Regions that are considered at high risk include the shoreline between Hengchun (恆春) and Tainan in the south as well as Lotung (羅東) and Suao (蘇澳) in northeastern Iland County, the study shows. [...]
If the South China Sea experiences an undersea earthquake with a magnitude similar to that of the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a tsunami 8m to 10m high is likely to hit Hengchun approximately one hour after the quake, and Lotung and Suao are likely to see a tsunami 6m to 8m high, Wu said. Referring to a report by the US Geological Survey assessing the potential risk a tsunami source along the Pacific subduction zones, Wu noted that the Luzon trench has been identified as a high risk zone, while the Ryukyu trench and the North Sulawesi trench have been identified as medium risk zones. ...
| To top Tsunami "overdue"
The Nation Newspaper - December 06, 2007 - Although the epicentre of the November 29 earthquake was in the sea, just north of Martinique, most of the eastern and southern Caribbean shook. From Puerto Rico in the north to Guyana and Venezuela in the south, and the islands in between, felt the tremor. The 7.3 intensity Richter scale quake was at a depth of 90 miles (145 kilometres). And mercifully this was so, because had it been not so deep a tsunami could have been generated. And this would have spelt disaster to many of Martinique's neighbours. But just a few years ago, a team of American scientists made a frightening revelation. They predicted that there is a serious risk of a devastating tsunami occurring in the Caribbean Sea off the coasts of Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They based their forecast on historical records.
Scientists Nancy Grindlay and Meghan Hearne, both of the University of North Carolina, and Paul Mann of the University of Texas, Austin, writing in Eos, the newspaper of the American Geophysical Union, in 2005, stated that destructive tsunamis have been generated in the past 500 years by undersea earth movements along the boundary between the Caribbean and the North American tectonic plates – two of the moving slabs of rock that cover the ocean floor. That's an average of one significant tsunami every 50 years. The most recent occurred in 1946 – 61 years ago – when a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in the Dominican Republican triggered a giant wave that killed 1 800 people. The scientists said the dates implied that another tsunami was overdue, but they couldn't predict when it might happen. ...
| To top Seabed project reveals earthquake, tsunami clues
AFP - November 23, 2007 - An ambitious international project to dig deeper into the Earth's surface than ever before has made a good start with scientists saying they have gained clues about how large earthquakes and tsunami occur. The experiment, using the Japanese government's 57,500-tonne, 60-billion-yen (550-million-dollar) deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu, is probing a trench in waters off the Pacific coast of Japan where two tectonic plates meet. [...]
Tobin said the project, known as the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment, could help explain huge earthquakes caused by "subduction," when two plates move towards each other with one sliding under the other. "What we'll learn here about earthquake mechanics is of interest to all of us from the USA from Europe to around the world," Tobin said after he returned to land by helicopter from the giant ship. "It will apply to subduction-zone earthquakes everywhere -- whether it's Sumatra, South America, the northwestern part of North America and anywhere else," he added. The drilling area off Japan's Kii Peninsula is one of the most active quake zones on the planet and seismologists expect massive tremors within the next several decades. ...
| To top 'Ultrasound' of Earth's crust reveals inner workings of a tsunami factory
EurekAlert! Science News - November 15, 2007 - Research announced this week by a team of U.S. and Japanese geoscientists may help explain why part of the seafloor near the southwest coast of Japan is particularly good at generating devastating tsunamis, such as the 1944 Tonankai event, which killed at least 1,200 people. The findings will help scientists assess the risk of giant tsunamis in other regions of the world.
The results, published this week in the journal Science, address a long standing mystery as to why earthquakes below some parts of the seafloor trigger large tsunamis while earthquakes in other regions do not. The 3D seismic images allowed the researchers to reconstruct how layers of rock and sediment have cracked and shifted over time. They found two things that contribute to big tsunamis. First, they confirmed the existence of a major fault that runs from a region known to unleash earthquakes about 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep right up to the seafloor. When an earthquake happens, the fault allows it to reach up and move the seafloor up or down, carrying a column of water with it and setting up a series of tsunami waves that spread outward.
Second, and most surprising, the team discovered that the recent fault activity, probably including the slip that caused the 1944 event, has shifted to landward branches of the fault, becoming shallower and steeper than it was in the past. “That leads to more direct displacement of the seafloor and a larger vertical component of seafloor displacement that is more effective in generating tsunamis,” said Nathan Bangs, senior research scientist at the Institute for Geophysics at The University of Texas at Austin who was co-principal investigator on the research project and co-author on the Science article. ...
| To top Can you hear me ? Tsunami siren test results are mixed
Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader - November 14, 2007 - If Tuesday's tsunami warning siren test was anything like what would occur if a tidal wave was imminent, potential death and destruction would be forecasted by a pleasant eight-beat tone akin to London's Big Ben clocktower. [...]
Jim Tolpin, a Port Townsend resident who was on a rowboat about 800 feet from shore when the test was conducted, said he heard the chimes but found the voice message announcing the test "completely unintelligible." "I bet it's very, very unlikely there would be a tsunami within the operational range of that very vulnerable piece of equipment, which apparently doesn't work very well anyway," Tolpin said. ...
| To top Experts Cite Slow Progress Toward Tsunami Warning System in Indonesia
Voice of America News - October 31, 2007 - Nearly three years after the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, Indonesia has only one working tsunami-warning buoy in place. [...]
Plans call for more than 20 buoys to monitor seismic activity off the Indonesian coast by the end of 2008. Dr. Fauzi heads the tsunami division at Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysical Agency, and he says only three have been installed, and two are now being repaired. "In 2006, Germany install two buoys but because of the problem they have in mooring of the buoys they need to fix [them]," he said. ...
| To top Indonesia lifts tsunami warning after Sumatra quake
Reuters - October 24, 2007 - A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake jolted the Indian Ocean off Indonesia's Sumatra island early on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties and a brief tsunami alert was lifted. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, which hit at 4:02 a.m. (2102 GMT), was quite shallow at only 30 km (18.6 miles) deep and struck 135 km west of Bengkulu. [...]
An official at the Honolulu-based U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said his agency had told the Indonesian government of a possible small and localized tsunami. [...] The Indonesian meteorological agency, which put the quake at a depth of 10 km, issued a tsunami warning immediately after the tremor but lifted it later. ...
Note: According to the hazard analysis of the Tsunami Alarm System there was a concrete tsunami hazard for coastal areas in the vicinity of the epicentre. Therefore, the subscribers of the Tsunami Alarm System were informed of the possibility of a tsunami in the region immediately after the earthquake. When it became clear that a destructive tsunami was no longer expected, an All-Clear signal was sent to the subscribers of the Tsunami Alarm System.
| To top When the big wave struck
stuff.co.nz - October 15, 2007 - Just when we thought we knew all about New Zealand history, along comes Bruce McFadgen with his giant tsunamis. The Wellington archaeologist reckons that a tsunami the height of a seven-storey building hit northern New Zealand about 500 years ago.
The wave swept the coasts of Northland, Auckland and the Bay of Plenty and by the time it hit Cook Strait it was still 10 metres high. This mother-of-all-tsunamis decimated Maori and changed their way of life forever. ...
| To top Giant Wave Experiment Reveals Poorly Understood Behavior Of Tsunamis
Science Daily - October 14, 2007 - With the goal of saving lives and preventing environmental and structural damage during real tsunamis, Princeton Engineering researchers created experimental mini-tsunamis in Oregon this summer. Existing models for predicting the impact of tsunamis focus on the incoming rush of water while largely ignoring the effect of the powerful forces that a tsunami wave can exert on the earth beneath when it draws back into the ocean.
"This was the first experiment of this kind and it will allow us to develop a realistic model to show us what really happens to the sand during a tsunami," said Yin Lu "Julie" Young, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. ...
| To top Was 869 Tohoku quake Japan's strongest?
Daily Yomiuri - October 12, 2007 - The Jogan Sanriku Earthquake of 869 may have been the strongest seismic disturbance ever to strike Japan, a joint research team of Osaka City University, Tohoku University, Tokyo University and others reported Thursday. The finding, based on evidence that traces of the tsunami following the quake impacted a wider area than previously thought, was revealed at a meeting of the Japan Society of Engineering Geology being held in Osaka. The Jogan Tsunami is believed to have severely damaged the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region during the Heian period (794-1192). According to a previous study, traces of the damage were found from Miyagi Prefecture to Fukushima Prefecture. However, in the most recent study, the researchers found evidence of damage in Iwate Prefecture, leading them to believe the earthquake that caused the tsunami might have measured around a magnitude of 9, stronger than the magnitude 8.6 Hoei Earthquake of 1707, which was previously believed to have been the country's strongest quake. [...]
In Sendai Plain, the tsunami breached the coast by more than 3 kilometers. About 1,000 people are thought to have died in the tsunami, according to documents. ...
| To top Tsunami researchers build tiny town
Earthtimes.org - October 07, 2007 - Researchers in Oregon plan to drown a tiny town of their creation to measure the effects of a tsunami on real seaside communities. Oregon State University in Corvallis has the nation's most sophisticated tsunami research center with a 50-yard-long Tsunami Wave Basin completed with $5 million from the National Science Foundation, The Oregonian reported Sunday.
The $170,000 Seaside project has recreated the town of Seaside, Ore., complete with homes, businesses, streets and schools. The miniature model will be flooded repeatedly this fall and winter to determine what would happen if a 35-foot-high tsunami hit Seaside, the newspaper reported.
Researchers want to know how water channels through the town and how much force it has to move debris and damage cars and buildings. The study also could determine evacuation routes.
Evidence suggests major quakes have occurred about 20 times along the Oregon coastline in the last 10,000 years, the last one striking 300 years ago. ...
| To top Tsunami in a Tank
Popular Science Magazine - October 05, 2007 - Three years after a series of tsunamis killed more than 200,000 people and devastated hundreds of communities bordering the Indian Ocean, a team of engineers has figured out how to re-create smaller versions of the killer waves in a lab. Their first-of-its-kind flume, set for completion next year, could better reveal how tsunamis work and help in designing buildings that can withstand their power.
After traveling undetected for thousands of miles, the ocean's most dangerous waves rear up as high as 100 feet as they approach the shore. This initial rush can pummel homes and break protective barriers, but the rest of the wave—the mile-long mass of water that follows the crest to shore and then drags land and buildings back into the ocean—can be just as devastating.
Geoengineer Tiziana Rossetto of University College London first documented this effect while observing the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The waves, she explains, swept away a huge volume of sand and soil as they receded, and the erosion left buildings unstable. "It's like pulling the roots out of a plant," she says. ...
| To top Tsunamis after next Cascadia earthquake might be more damaging than ground shaking
Canadian Underwriter - October 05, 2007 - Ground shaking caused by the next predicted Cascadia earthquake off the western coast of British Columbia is expected to result in losses of between US$40 and US$60 billion — and damage losses resulting from the accompanying tsunami waves could be even larger than that, according to the Hazard & Risk Science Review 2007. The review, a joint publication of Benfield and PartnerRe, surveys hazard and risk science papers published in the past 12 months that are relevant to the reinsurance and insurance markets.[...]
In California, economic loss estimates as a result of a tsunami are on the order of US$270 billion, the review notes. ...
| To top Team studying Tasman mega-tsunamis
Sidney Morning Herald - October 04, 2007 - A study is underway to determine if Australia and New Zealand were hit by mega-tsunamis many times the size of the 2004 Boxing Day disaster and what risk there is of any repeat. Scientists from both sides of the Tasman are looking for geological evidence that both countries were hit by super waves in the past 10,000 years. Controversial data has suggested three or four huge tsunamis may have hit south eastern Australia during that period, although scientists are divided about how severe the events were. [...]
Dr Dale Dominey-Howes, from the University of NSW, is heading the new three-year study, which aims to establish how real the risk is of a catastrophic tsunami in the future. Researchers say more than 300,000 lives and property worth more than $A150 billion on the NSW coast could be vulnerable if a big tsunami hit. Dominey-Howes is sceptical about some of the tsunami claims, but says the possibility that huge waves had hit Australia must be properly investigated. ...
| To top Tsunami Alert Lifted After Sumatra Quake
AP - October 03, 2007 - A strong earthquake hit the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island Tuesday, prompting authorities to temporarily issue a tsunami alert. The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 struck nearly 100 miles off the coast of the town of Bengkulu, the Meteorological and Geophysics Agency said.
There was no sign of large waves reaching the coast and authorities lifted the tsunami alert after one hour. ...
Note: According to the hazard analysis of the Tsunami Alarm System there was no danger of a destructive tsunami, therefore no warning was sent to its subscribers.
| To top New Zealand tremor caused tsunami warning
Fiji Times - October 01, 2007 - A tsunami warning that was issued at around 6.30 last night by the Mineral Resources Department following an earthquake in New Zealand, was cancelled about three hours later. The department issued the cancellation after monitoring the situation. The west of the South Island of New Zealand was shaken by an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the richter scale, after which a tsunami warning was put in place in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. ...
Note: According to the hazard analysis of the Tsunami Alarm System there was a concrete tsunami hazard for coastal areas in the vicinity of the epicentre. Therefore, the subscribers of the Tsunami Alarm System were informed of the possibility of a tsunami in the region immediately after the earthquake. When it became clear that a destructive tsunami was no longer expected, an All-Clear signal was sent to the subscribers of the Tsunami Alarm System.
| To top Oregon rethinks tsunami's reach
The Oregonian - September 19, 2007 - When the next mega-earthquake strikes the Oregon coast, it will announce itself with minutes of shaking followed by a tsunami as high as 35 feet. As communities up and down the Oregon coast run through a tsunami-warning drill today, scientists say they're increasingly concerned about the effects such a deadly wall of water would have on the 750 miles of coastline from Northern California to Alaska.[...]
But preliminary data from a new study of worst-case scenarios in Cannon Beach -- scheduled for release early next year -- show that true safety zones could need to be "tens of feet" higher than original estimates, said Rob Witter, regional coastal geologist for the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries based in Newport. So areas considered safe under the old standards could actually be underwater when the Big One hits.[...]
Aya said the existing inundation maps were based on what scientists believed was the worst-case scenario. It just turns out that they may not have been "worst" enough. The real lesson might be for coastal residents not to rely exclusively on any scientific prediction, Aya said. "The main thing people need to learn is to go to higher ground as soon as the shaking starts," Aya said. "Don't wait for warnings, alerts or sirens. Drop everything and run." ...
| To top 'Luck' stopped devastating tsunami
Sidney Morning Herald - September 13, 2007 - An Australian expert says it is a matter of luck that Indonesia's powerful earthquake did not generate a devastating tsunami. Central Queensland University seismologist Mike Turnbull said the 8.4 magnitude tremor which struck in the ocean off southern Sumatra at 9.10pm (AEST) yesterday was equivalent in energy to more than 800,000 atomic bombs being exploded.
But the huge force of water displaced by the ocean earthquake was pushed out to sea, rather than towards land, he said. "It was very fortunate in fact that the plate mechanisms that caused the earthquake caused the tsunami to go to the south west, out into the Indian Ocean and then the Southern Ocean," Turnbull said. ...
| To top New tsunami warning - 60 million people in the Bay of Bengal may be at risk.
Nature - September 05, 2007 - The densely-populated Bay of Bengal looks to be at risk from very large tsunami-producing earthquakes, according to a new analysis of modern and historical observations. Phil Cummins, a seismologist at the national Geoscience Australia agency in Canberra, who publishes the analysis today in Nature1, is quick to say that his ideas need confirmation before "policymakers start doing anything". But with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami fresh in everyone's mind, his conclusions are likely to raise the hairs on the back of a few necks. The northern Bay of Bengal was formerly thought to be an unlikely place for the large earthquakes that result when tectonic plates that are pushing against one another suddenly wrench, with one plate slipping below the other. These 'megathrust' earthquakes can cause tsunamis, as water is suddenly displaced up and down by the thrusting rock. The plate boundary further south, off the coast of Sumatra, causes such quakes — one of which created the devastating 2004 wave. [...]
There is scant written evidence of previous tsunamis in the area, but Cummins' hypothesis is supported by the writings of British Captain Edward Halsted, who visited Cheduba Island, off the coast of what is now Myanmar, in 1841. In between recording the islanders' habit of keeping their cigars handy in their ear piercings and an account of an interview with an 106-year old inhabitant (of whom he wrote that "not a tooth in his head was gone or apparently inclined to depart"), Halsted recorded the memory of and geological evidence for a very large earthquake with accompanying tsunami in 1762 that "washed to and fro several times with great fury and then retired from the grounds, leaving an immense quantity of fish, the feasting on which is a favourite story throughout the island." [...]
Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, says the Bay of Bengal area is decidedly not prepared for a tsunami. "Everyone is really concentrating on central and southern Sumatra. That's where the new instruments are going in; that's where everyone expects the next big earthquake to occur," he says. "I don't think the Indian or the Bangladeshi governments are prepared.". ...
| To top Solomon Islands quake may cause tsunami
United Press International - September 03, 2007 - A tsunami bulletin was issued Sunday for the Solomon Islands after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck under the Pacific ocean. The tsunami bulletin was issued for the Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomon Islands province of Temotu after the earthquake struck 22 miles below the Pacific Ocean, 275 miles east-southeast of Kira Kira, Solomon Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Seismic data collected from the earthquake indicated it "may be the kind of earthquake that ruptures more slowly and has an increased potential to generate tsunami waves that could be damaging near the epicenter," the tsunami bulletin said. No information on damage resulting from the quake was available Sunday. ...
| To top Tsunami prediction for Hong Kong and Macao
New Scientist - August 27, 2007 - Hong Kong and Macao are enormous, sprawling economic
centres perched on the coast. And both stand a 10 per cent chance of
being hit by a serious tsunami in the next century, warn geophysicists.
The warning follows a new assessment of how earthquakes along the nearby
Manila trench could radiate tsunami waves across the South China Sea.
Although Chinese records of tsunamis date back to AD 171, the hazard
was largely ignored until the cataclysmic Sumatra tsunami in 2004.
However, the structure of the complex plate boundary on the eastern
side of the South China Sea, running from Taiwan to the Manila trench,
makes shallow subduction-related quakes particularly likely. This problem
was highlighted by the quake in December 2006 that hobbled internet
traffic in the region when it ripped through subsea data cables. Such
earthquakes could also trigger tsunamis.
...
| To top Geologists fear undersea mud mountain may trigger tsunami
Bangkok Post - August 16, 2007 - A giant mountain of mud found under the Indian Ocean's Nicobar Islands
is being closely monitored by geologists who fear a tsunami could be
triggered by a massive landslide. Smith Dharmasarojana, chairman of the
National Disaster Warning Centre Committee, said the geologists from
India recently discovered the giant mud mountain, and some parts of it
measured more than seven kilometres high.
The mud mountain is only
400 km from Phuket, he said. "If a tsunami happens, it will definitely
affect Thailand," said Mr Smith, adding that mud-triggered tsunamis had
occurred in Canada and Australia. ...
| To top Earthquake in Peru kills hundreds
Reuters - August 16, 2007 - A massive earthquake hit Peru on Wednesday evening and officials said
more than 330 people were killed in the rubble of collapsed homes and a
church as rescuers searched for victims early on Thursday. Peru's
health minister initially said few died in the 7.9-magnitude quake, but
the toll later rose to more than 330, the nation's civil defense agency
said. Hundreds were injured.
A tsunami warning was issued for Peru,
Chile, Ecuador and Colombia and a small tsunami was detected. But it
posed no major threat and the warning was later lifted. ...
| To top Estimating Local Tsunami Wave Height From Great Earthquakes
ScienceDaily - August 15, 2007 - The massive 9.2-magnitude Sumatra-Andaman earthquake on 26 December
2004 generated a tsunami that propagated throughout the Indian Ocean,
killing more than 250,000 people. By contrast, the nearby 8.7-magnitude
Simeulue-Nias earthquake on 28 March 2005 generated a small tsunami
that caused only a few casualties. Though these earthquakes occurred in
similar tectonic settings, their tsunami were markedly different,
highlighting the need for reliably determining tsunami hazards from
earthquake geometry. ...
Editor's note: The original abstract and paper can be found at: http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2007GL030494.shtml.
| To top Mini-Seaside becomes Oregon test model for tsunami effects
OregonLive - August 13, 2007 - A tsunami is headed for a miniature version of the city of Seaside in
an Oregon State University research lab. Scientists at the O.H.
Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory have built a small model of downtown
Seaside to study the effects of a tsunami in a project that is likely
to continue for years. It will encompass everything from numerical
models to wave heights, to the amount of water that will remain after a
significant event, to possible places of safety.
"The characteristics of Seaside are similar to Thailand," said
Kijewski-Correa, who led a group of researchers to Thailand after their
visit to the Oregon coast. "Clearly, I think, we need to realize we're
at risk and we need to get over the 'it's them, not us' mentality,"
said Kijewski-Correa. ...
| To top Small tsunami waves in Japan's Hokkaido, no damage
Reuters - August 02, 2007 - Small tsunami waves of up to 30 cm (12 inches) hit the west coast of
Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday after an
earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 off Russia's Sakhalin
island, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injury, and only light
shaking was detected in some Hokkaido towns. Television cameras trained
on the ocean showed no change in sea levels. ...
Note: According to the hazard analysis of the Tsunami Alarm System there was no danger of a destructive tsunami, therefore no warning
was sent to its subscribers.
| To top Krabi governor inspects false tsunami alarm
mcot.net - July 29, 2007 - The governor of this southern Thai resort province Sunday inspected the cause of a false alarm emitted by nine disaster-warning
towers Saturday which sent local residents and tourists alike running in panic for higher ground.
A number of local residents and tourists were injured as they scrambled
for their lives, and valuables left on the beach by swimmers were
stolen, said Governor Siva, adding that police were now hunting for the
thieves. ...
| To top Powerful quake rocks eastern Indonesia
Houston Chronicle - July 26, 2007 - A powerful earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia on
Thursday, sending residents fleeing from swaying homes and hospitals,
authorities and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of
damage.
The quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 7, triggered a tsunami
warning but the alert was quickly lifted after it became clear no destructive
waves had been generated, the country's geophysics agency said. ...
Note: According to the initial hazard analysis of the Tsunami Alarm
System there was a concrete tsunami hazard for coastal areas in the
vicinity of the epicentre. Therefore, the subscribers of the Tsunami
Alarm System were informed of the possibility of a tsunami in the region
immediately after the earthquake. After 30 minutes, additional data
was available that allowed for sending an All-Clear signal.
| To top Major Quake, Tsunami Likely in Middle East, Study Finds
National Geographic News - July 26, 2007 - In A.D. 551, a massive earthquake spawned huge tsunamis that devastated
the coast of Phoenicia, now Lebanon. Now a new underwater survey has
finally uncovered the fault likely responsible for the catastrophe and
shown that it rumbles approximately every 1,500 years—which means a
disaster is due any day now. "It is just a matter of time before a
destructive tsunami hits this region again," said Iain Stewart, an
earthquake expert at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom
not involved in the underwater survey.
The ample archaeological and historical evidence from the A.D. 551
earthquake indicate that it was truly a catastrophic event. The
resulting tsunami damaged all major coastal cities between Tripoli and
Tyr, and Tripoli was reported to have "drowned." ...
| To top Computer glitches hamper Thai tsunami drill
Reuters India - July 25, 2007 - Computer glitches marred Thailand's biggest tsunami
evacuation drill since the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster on Wednesday,
a government attempt to boost tourist confidence ahead of the high
season later this year.
Smith Dharamsoroja, head of the National Disaster Warning Centre,
said he was not happy with a 20-minute gap between the first report
of an undersea earthquake and signals sent to 79 warning towers in
the region. "It should be 10 minutes. We are a bit slow so we
have to improve," said Smith, who for years had warned Thailand
to prepare for a tsunami and has said another big quake is likely within
several years. "We don't have the right computers and software.
We need better software and computers to analyse after receiving the
first report," he said.
...
| To top Earthquake Hits Central Japan; Seven Killed, NHK Says
Bloomberg - July 16, 2007 - An earthquake struck central Japan near Niigata,
toppling houses, causing a fire at a nuclear power plant and suspending
bullet train services. Seven people were killed and more than 800 were
injured, NHK television reported. The magnitude 6.8 quake, centered
off the Japan Sea coast, triggered a tsunami warning that was later
lifted, the country's meteorological agency said on its Web site.
According to the hazard analysis of the Tsunami Alarm System there
was no danger of a destructive tsunami, therefore no warning was sent
to its subscribers.
...
| To top New method of tsunami forecasting found
earthtimes.org - July 16, 2007 - University of Hawaii and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
researchers note giant earthquakes -- those that rupture slowly or
those with large fault areas -- can pose serious tsunami hazards that
can be difficult to immediately deduce from real-time analyses of seismic
networks.
However, the scientists found existing networks of tide gauges and
deep-ocean pressure sensors can provide important information for tsunami
detection. ...
Editor's note: The original abstract and paper can be found
at: http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2007GL030158.shtml.
| To top Making Waves: New Research Could Minimize Impact Of Future Tsunami
Science Daily - July 03, 2007 - For the first time, a team of experts is preparing
to create tsunami in a controlled environment in order to study their
effects on buildings and coastlines - ultimately paving the way for
the design of new structures better able to withstand their impact.
Ahead of today's (Monday 2nd) Coastal Structures 2007 International
Conference Dr Tiziana Rossetto, UCL Department of Civil & Environmental
Engineering, unveiled plans to develop an innovative new tsunami generator
capable of creating scaled-down versions of the devastating waves.
"The main gap in our knowledge is about what happens when the
tsunami wave approaches the nearshore region and then runs inland.
These flow processes cannot be simplified using mathematical models
because of the complex interaction that takes place with beaches, sediment,
coastal defences and then in and around buildings. It is possible for
the whole process to be simulated with hydraulic models, but to get
meaningful data the tsunami wave has to be accurately generated in
the first place. Conventional wave generators haven't been able to
replicate tsunami because of the unusually long wavelength that is
required." ...
| To top 'Stealth' Tsunami That Killed 600 In Java Last Summer Had 65 Foot High Wave
Science Daily - June 19, 2007 - Though categorized as magnitude 7.8, the earthquake
could scarcely be felt by beachgoers that afternoon. A low tide and
wind-driven waves disguised the signs of receding water, so when the
tsunami struck, it caught even lifeguards by surprise. That contributed
to the death toll of more than 600 persons in Java, Indonesia.
"This event indicates that there was likely a combination of
both a tectonic tsunami and a submarine landslide or a canyon failure
triggered by the earthquake," said Fritz, whose research is supported
by the U.S. National Science Foundation. "The runup was unusually
high along one portion of the coast, too much for a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
The only explanation we could think of is that a submarine mass movement
triggered by the earthquake could have added to the effect of the earthquake,
given the essentially straight coastline with little room for large-scale
tsunami focusing." ...
| To top Mangrove forests could have reduced tsunami deaths
Daily Yomiuri Online - June 16, 2007 - The death toll in the tsunami catastrophe that devastated
the coastal area of Indonesia's Sumatra Island in December 2004 could
have been halved if natural mangrove forests had not been flattened
by development, according to studies by a group of researchers led
by Tohoku Gakuin University Prof. Toyohiko Miyagi.
He found that while the hypothetical range hit by a tsunami is similar
to the range struck by an actual tsunami, the mangrove forests, if
they had been there, could have served as a breakwater that could have
reduced the height of the tsunami by up to 73 percent. By the time
the tsunami had swept two kilometers inland from the coast, its height
of eight meters could have been reduced by two meters. With a lower
tsunami, about 47 percent of about 42,000 people who died or went missing
in the inland area, where there were mangrove forests in the past,
could have been saved, Miyagi said.
...
| To top Strong quake rocks Central America; buildings shake
Reuters - June 14, 2007 - A powerful earthquake rattled Guatemala and El Salvador
on Wednesday, forcing terrified residents to flee shaking buildings,
but there were no reports of casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey
said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 and was centered in the
Pacific Ocean some 75 km south of the Guatemalan town of Escuintla.
...
| To top Lab to study tsunami preparation efforts
Houston Chronicle - June 12, 2007 - Oregon State University's O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research
Laboratory's Tsunami Wave Basin is re-creating a few blocks of Seaside
so researchers can repeatedly slam tidal waves into it.
- Scientists believe a large tsunami — a 35-foot-high wall of
water rushing over the beach in Seaside — could be caused by
a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake just offshore. Researchers know
that one occurred on Jan. 26, 1700. Such an event today would be similar
to the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which several people survived
through "vertical evacuation" — taking refuge on the
second story of a hotel or bar. "They call it a 500-year event," Cox
said. "There's a chance it could happen sooner." In fact,
experts say, there's a 14 percent or greater chance that it could occur
in the next 50 years. Such a tsunami would take about 15 to 20 minutes
to hit the Oregon coast, according to the Oregon Department of Geology
and Mineral Industries. It would take just about that long to flee
from the beach to higher ground outside the tsunami-flooding area.
...
| To top Accidental tsunami warning sparks panic in Indonesia
Reuters India - June 06, 2007 - A tsunami siren went off accidentally in Indonesia's
Aceh province on Monday, sending residents rushing out of their homes
in panic, meteorological agency officials said. A technical glitch
sent the siren ringing for about half an hour in Aceh Besar district
on the northern tip of Sumatra island, where memories of the December
2004 tsunami are still fresh.
"It's a technical glitch. The system broke down and it issued
a tsunami warning to everyone. We did not send any information on a
quake," said the agency's national head Sri Woro Harijono. ...
| To top Tsunami-warning system disabled
Independent Online - June 06, 2007 - Angry residents in Indonesia's Aceh province, the
area hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami, disconnected part of a new early
warning system after a false alarm sent panicky residents to the hills,
officials said on Wednesday.
"They took away the fuses without telling us because they are
still panicked and afraid," said Hervina, an official with the
Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Banda Aceh.
...
| To top Solomons tsunami 'destroyed 6,000 homes'
The Sidney Morning Herald - June 04, 2007 - The Solomon Islands earthquake and tsunami on April
2 destroyed or severely damaged more than 6,000 homes, the country's
disaster management office says.
In its latest assessment report following the 8.1 magnitude quake,
the National Disaster Management Office said 52 people were confirmed
dead, 40 people were seriously injured and more than 36,000 were directly
affected by the disaster. ...
| To top America prepares for the Canary mega-tsunami
Tenerife News Online - May 30, 2007 - That Canary Islands tsunami is back in the news again in the USA. The
one, that is, that foreign experts like Prof Bill McGuire say will be
triggered by an eruption and mega-landslide in La Palma and which
island authorities prefer not to talk about.
And although there’s no telling when the crunch might occur – next
week, next century or next millennium – some people across the pond are
getting pretty twitchy and are preparing themselves, right now. Just in
case. ...
| To top Tonga's Workshop On Tsunami Disasters Strategies
TongaNOW! - May 30, 2007 - Government officials from the national and district levels; and
representatives of NGOs convened in Nuku’alofa this week to discuss
lessons learned and best practices related to the national and
international response to past tsunami disasters.
Tonga is most vulnerable to natural disasters: Small pacific nations
like Tonga are vulnerable to natural calamities since the most
disastrous tsunami that claimed thousands of lives a few years ago. It
was recognized at the outset that smaller countries had not been able
to pay so much attention to natural disasters following the Asian
tsunami. ...
| To top Tsunami warning lifted after strong Indonesia quake
Reuters - May 23, 2007 - An strong undersea earthquake on Thursday off central
Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara island chain sparked panic and prompted a
brief tsunami warning, but there were no reports of casualties or major
damage. "We have cancelled the warning. The quake had no tsunami
potential," Sri Woro, the head of the agency, told Reuters.
According to the hazard analysis of the Tsunami Alarm System there
was no danger of a destructive tsunami, therefore no warning was sent
to its subscribers. …
| To top Oman cannot ignore tsunami threat
gulfnews.com - May 08, 2007 - Rumours about an impending tsunami may have died down,
but the potential of the disaster striking Oman's eastern coast from
the Makran subduction zone cannot be ruled out, according to a Canadian
palaeontologist.
According to Professor Reinhardt, fractured shells deposits found
in the area indicate the impact of tsunami or earthquake in the sea.
The tsunami of November 28, 1945 was a major incident in the region
when an earthquake of magnitude 8 caused great devastation in the Makran
area of Pakistan. …
| To top Experts differ on tsunami threat - Interview with the Hawaii-based geophysicist and tsunami expert
IslandsBusiness.com - May 04, 2007 - "The biggest challenge in tsunami warning (or
any warning for that matter) is getting the message over that last
mile, from the local government office or police station to the people
on the beach. With more and more people carrying mobile phones, pushing
out an SMS message would probably be the most effective means of warning
people."
"In July 2006 there was a tragedy on the south coast of Java.
[...] If our message had been relayed, and if there had been a notification
system set up to get the word to the general public, then most of those
poor people would have had 20 minutes in which to escape. The biggest
challenge is that last step in the chain-getting the word to the public."
…
| To top Was Bristol Channel Hit By A Tsunami?
ScienceDaily.com - April 30, 2007 - On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Britain's
largest natural disaster, the author of Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard,
reveals strong new evidence that the Bristol Channel was devastated
by a tsunami on January 30, 1607. On that day, historical accounts
describe a storm in the Bristol Channel, flooding more then 500 km2
of lowland and killing 2,000 people. …
| To top Are Tourists Prepared In Case A Tsunami Strikes?
KHNL.com - April 26, 2007 - Those of us who live in Hawaii are reminded of potential
hazards, like tsunami, every month with siren soundings. But for many
of the visitors in Waikiki, they may not have thought of destructive
waves during their time in paradise.
Thousands are prepared for the sun, sand and surf of our islands.
But not all are prepared for the possibility of a tsunami. …
| To top Big Island Tsunami Survivors Speak
KHNL.com - April 26, 2007 - Many around the state have heard the emergency sirens
or been under a tsunami watch or warning. But those who have survived
these deadly waves, say being prepared is the best way to live thru
these disasters. …
| To top Earthquake rattles southern Japan
CNN.com - April 20, 2007 - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7
jolted islands off Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa on Friday,
the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but there were no reports of
injuries or damage.
The agency lifted a tsunami warning it had issued earlier for waves
of about 50 cm (20 inches) following the quake, which occurred around
10:46 a.m. (0146 GMT). ...
Note: According to the hazard analysis of the Tsunami
Alarm System there was no danger of a destructive tsunami, therefore
no warning was sent to its subscribers.
| To top Ottawa is failing tsunami risk test
Canada.com - April 20, 2007 - Karl Hansen, Tofino's emergency co-ordinator, says
Public Safety Canada has twice turned down his request for a federal
contribution of $75,000 toward the warning sirens.
As it is, Hansen is supposed to run from house to house yelling a
warning in this town of about 2,000 people.Since tsunamis can move
at several hundred kilometres an hour, he doesn't like his, or their,
chances. …
| To top Designing Bioshields, Shelterbelts For Coastal Tsunami Protection
ScienceDaily - April 16, 2007 - Iowa State University researchers are applying their
knowledge of agricultural shelterbelts to protect coastal areas from
tsunamis at the request of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
"Much loss of life from this tsunami was attributed to destruction
of coastal forests. Villages in India and Southeast Asia that preserved
their coastal mangroves suffered far less damage," Takle said. "FAO
requested guidelines for rebuilding these bioshields based on our work
and understanding of agricultural shelterbelts." …
| To top Mediterranean Tsunami Warning System Could Save Lives
Deutsche Welle - April 16, 2007 - Underwater earthquakes can trigger tsunamis all over
the world - including the Mediterranean. Experts are investigating
how to set up an early warning system in the Mediterranean, but there
are still many issues.
Ten percent of all tsunamis world-wide occur in the Mediterranean.
In 2003, a two meter (6.6 feet) high tsunami hit the coast of Algeria
and Spain's Balearic Islands causing significant damage, but no loss
of life. And back in 1908, some 75,000 people died when giant waves
swept along the Sicilian coast. …
| To top Time factor is big challenge in tsunami warnings
Canberra Times - April 11, 2007 - AN EARTHQUAKE occurred south of the Aleutian Islands
which stretch across the top of the Pacific Ocean like Alaska's tail,
on March 9, 1957. The undersea quake set off tsunamis towards the Alaskan
coast and Hawaii. Official records from 50 years ago said, "Thanks
to a timely alarm from the International Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
at Honolulu, no human lives were lost."
But as last week's quake and tsunami near the Solomon Islands showed,
getting the geology and seismography right is just one part of a successful
tsunami warning system. You also have to get the information and communications
technologies right, not to mention the public information systems and
the social psychology. …
| To top 13 dead following Solomons tsunami
CNN.com - April 02, 2007 - At least 13 people died in the Solomon Islands Monday
after two earthquakes and a tsunami hit the western part of the island-chain
nation, the country's chief spokesman said.
Alfred Maesulia, the Solomon Islands' government spokesman, told
CNN that six people were confirmed dead and "a lot of people" were
missing, which he suggested may be in the range of 10 to 20 people.
In the South Choiseul, waves 10 meters high swept through the Sasamunga
village northeast of Gizo, destroying villages, food gardens and a
hospital, the government's Web site reported
| To top One dead, 170 injured as quake hits Japan
The Jakarta Post - March 25, 2007 - A powerful earthquake struck central Japan on Sunday,
killing at least one person and injuring 170 others as it toppled buildings,
triggered landslides and generated a small tsunami along the coast.
A small tsunami measuring 6 inches hit the shore 36 minutes later,
the agency said. ...
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