Smithsonian.com has an article about Japan’s Orphan Tsunami (“orphan” because it was then unlinked to any earthquake) and how it was connected to an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
“Dynamic modeling of sea-level rise, which takes storm wind and wave action into account, paints a much graver picture for some low-lying Pacific islands under climate-change scenarios than the passive computer modeling used in earlier research.” Quote from the USGS press release.
“Multinational research team finds that sea floor earthquake zones can act like a “magnifying lens,” focusing and strengthening tsunamis beyond what was through possible.” Quoted from the University of Southern California press release.
“According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities’ social, economic and natural systems. The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
A Magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred in the Santa Cruz Islands area at about 8:12 PM EST. Tsunami warnings were issued for numerous islands in the South Pacific and waves up to 3 feet in amplitude have been reported.
USAToday reports that dozens of homes were damaged in the Solomon Islands.
Did you know that the NOAA website has a tabulation of “Watches, Warnings and Advisories” for each of the 50 states? These include blizzard warnings, avalanche warnings, fire weather watches, wind advisories and much more.
“Waters from the Atlantic Ocean washed southward across parts of Anegada, east-northeast of Puerto Rico, during a singular event a few centuries ago, [creating] inland fields of cobbles and boulders. [...] Hypothetically, the overwash resulted from the Antilles tsunami of 1690, the transatlantic Lisbon tsunami of 1755, a local tsunami not previously documented, or a storm whose effects exceeded those of Hurricane Donna.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
“The primary goal of U.S. Geological Survey Natural Hazards Response is to ensure that the disaster response community has access to timely, accurate, and relevant geospatial products, imagery, and services during and after an emergency event. [...] Post-event imagery and analysis can provide important and timely information about the extent and severity of an event. USGS Natural Hazards Response will also support the coordination of remotely sensed data acquisitions, image distribution, and authoritative geospatial information production as required for use in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery operations.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet.
USGS has published “Tohoku-Oki Earthquake Tsunami Runup and Inundation Data for Sites Around the Island of Hawai‘i“. It contains a number of maps, photos and descriptions of tsunami damage on the island.
“The HazVu map provides a way to view many different geohazards in the state of Oregon. You can enter the address for your home, school, business, or public buildings in your area to see what hazards might affect you. You can print the map you create.
Geohazards include 100-year flooding; Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake shaking and tsunami; coastal erosion; volcano; landslide; active faults; earthquake soft soil; and more. Assets include state-owned/leased facilities and public buildings such as schools, police and fire stations, and hospitals, as well as links to seismic assessment reports for these public buildings.” Quoted from the HazVu website.
An article in the Anchorage Daily News explains how about 60% of physical goods shipped to disaster areas are not beneficial to the victims. If you want to help, the best way to do that is through a donation of money to an established relief organization.
About 1500 years ago a tsunami triggered by a delta collapse, traveled across Lake Geneva and swamped the area that is now the city of Geneva, Switzerland.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake beneath the Queen Charlotte Islands region, off the west coast of British Columbia, Canada triggered a tsunami heading across the Pacific Ocean. Evacuation warnings were issued for coastal areas of Hawaii and for shoreline communities in British Columbia.
About 1000 years ago the Seattle Fault Zone produced an earthquake of about magnitude 7. University of Washington graduate student, Beth Arcos, is examining field evidence of a large tsunami associated with that earthquake.
FEMA has published the website Ready.gov which provides lots of information about being prepared. Natural disasters make up an entire category on the site with lots of information on mitigation and how to citizens can prepare. Check it out.
Debris from the Japantsunami of March 2011 has been washing up on Oregon beaches. Recently a 66-foot-long dock washed up on Agate Beach, near Newport, Oregon.
“Perched atop the sheer coastal cliffs of Ireland’s Aran Islands, ridges of giant boulders have puzzled geologists for years. What forces could have torn these rocks from the cliff edges high above sea level and deposited them far inland?” Quoted from The University of Chicago Press media release.
“In the video, Robert Leeper stands in the field while explaining how he became associated with the USGS, what types of research projects he has worked on , and what his plans are for the future.” Quote from the USGS video description.
Today’s magnitude 8.6 and magnitude 8.2 earthquakes off the western coast of northern Sumatra produced small tsunamis that tested warning systems developed since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Could a partnership between a commercial telecommunications company planning an undersea cable across the Pacific Ocean and science researchers seeing ocean bottom monitoring be a great opportunity for both?
The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 caused millions of tons of debris to be swept into the Pacific Ocean. Now winds and currents are carrying the debris eastward
“The TsunamiReady Program, developed by the National Weather Service, is designed to help cities, towns, counties, universities and other large sites in coastal areas reduce the potential for disastrous tsunami-related consequences.” NOAA has educational materials available for people of all ages.
“Decision-support systems can be used to help synthesize, visualize, and analyze the natural-science and socioeconomic information needed for making risk-reduction and land-use choices.”
“The United Nations reports 2011 was the costliest year in history for catastrophes. It says economic losses from natural disasters, including earthquakes, storms and floods, amounted to $366 billion.” Quoted from the Voice of America article.
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