The Great Wave- Sumatra Quake and tsunami of 2004

various FR links | 12-26-04 | The Heavy Equipment Guy

[xcamel]

The global opposite of the quake is about 450 miles SW of the Galapagos islands - very near the Ecuadorian trench (subduction zone)

That would be the spot to watch over the next 48 hours.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

From what information I have seen, and TV programs I have watched, tsunami tidal waves mostly average in hight 20 or 30 feet ? and cause massive flooding and damage over a wide are , is that correct ?
How about typhoon tidal waves ? The hurricane IVAN created waves as high as 50 feet in the GULF of MEXICO. What is the historic ( recorded ) highest tidal wave ever recorded by a tsunami or hurricane ? or a mountain/volcano avalanche ? How about a mountain avalanches ? or volcano avalanche ? I was watching a TV program ( history channel ) that a mountain avalanche in Alaska created a tidal wave over 100 feet. but, the wave was more localized in that area.

[DUMBGRUNT]

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/tsunami.htm

Tsunami
They cannot be felt aboard ships nor can they be seen from the air in the open ocean. In deep water, the waves may reach speeds exceeding 500 miles per hour.

[FDNYRHEROES]

I was wondering the same thing about DGAR myself. Haven't heard or seen anything as yet. Ping me if you do, please.

[Ken H]

The USGS tried to contact areas but since there was no formal warning network set up by India and Sri Lanka there was no organized way to get a warning out.

I bet people are going to demand that heads roll for that.

[Strategerist]

India has a nuke program. For a tiny fraction of that budget they could easily have set up an Indian Ocean tsunami warning system, with sirens, if they had felt like it.

[JohnBovenmyer]

I was watching a TV program ( history channel ) that a mountain avalanche in Alaska created a tidal wave over 100 feet. but, the wave was more localized in that area.

If you were watching the program I'm thinking of they found evidence of a splash line within one narrow Alaskan inlet 1400 feet high. Now that's one monster wave. On the high seas tidal waves are fast, but quite short, gaining height in shallows. They used to be thought mythic, but they have recently shown that waves over 100 feet high can occur on the high seas, likely through some other mechanism than tsunamis.

[Righter-than-Rush]

Pics of historical tsumanis:

http://www.warriorprincess.com/Ep65_Tsunami/tsunami.jpg
http://www.ulst.ac.uk/faculty/science/crg/tsunami.jpg

[Conservative Vet]

Thanks for the background information. I just spoke to someone who lives on Phuket and works along Patong Beach. (I was there a month ago).

She was given the day off because of Christmas and planned on lounging on the beach but slept late instead. She said Patong Beach is gone! The optical shop she manages was destroyed. She would have been injured if she would have been working.

She went to the hospital to volunteer since she speaks fluent English (she's from the Philippines originally). She said it is full of people with severe injuries, most of them western tourists. She went to one room and it was full of bodies, including many children. She just started sobbing and decided it was too much for her. There were warnings of bigger waves so many people spent the night at the top of a hill...and was very cold through the night.

People were scared so there were lots of injuries and deaths from motor vehicle accidents. She has a motor scooter there but is not riding it after seeing so many accidents.

She saw cars stacked atop each other and jet skis and boats hundreds of feet inland.

I was really worried about her and thank God she decided to stay in bed instead of going to the beach in the morning.

I told her the news is reporting 500 dead in Thailand. She says that when the real numbers come out it will be MUCH higher.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Well,, from what I see, and saw on TV,, mountains or volcanoes that fall into the sea, can produce huge tidal waves.

[coloradan]

If a quake of a given magnitude shears the land laterally apart, the tsunami produced is much less bad than if the land shears vertically, which would then require a whole bunch of water flow back downhill to equalize levels. This quake apparently resulted in a seafloor shift of 50 feet vertically.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

Thanks for the report. I've been praying for the victims.

I'm listening to ABC Radio at 11 PM CST and they said 13,000 are dead and the total is likely to rise.

I think the worst earthquake in history was in China and took over 100,000.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From another thread:

Massive 8.5 quake rocks Southeast Asia, triggers tidal waves

_________________________________________________

I just recieved an email from my son who is stationed at Diego Garcia, according to him they didnt even feel the quake, and no sign of any waves coming their way. He was talking more about what a great meal they were fed on Christmas then what was going on elsewhere. Which was FINE with me!

An Air force mom!

110 posted on 12/26/2004 4:41:15 PM PST by margieelisabeth

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See post #54.

[StevieB]

There's a blurb on Drudge now that says the last Tsunami in the Indian Ocean was in the 1880's. Considering that this is the part of the world where the major weather concern is the typhoons that kill in the hundred-thousands range, I'm not suprised to see that not much effort has been spent on setting up a system to address a problem that hadn't occurred in several generations.

[lwoodham]

I heard on Fox News today that the 9.0 quake was equivalent to 35 megatons of TNT(this seems low to me). If true, it kinda makes me in awe at the destructive power of one of our 100 megaton hydrogen bombs.

[backhoe]

Thanks for the additional info- I will add more shortly.

[backhoe]

Indonesian Earthquake, Waves Kill 14,000 Across Asia (Update4)

 

 It Seemed Like a Scene From the Bible [WaPo reporter swimming when tsunami hit]

 Asian Tsunamis Kill at Least 13,340 People 

 392 dead, 3,000 injured by tidal waves in Thailand

 Fox just said that more tsunamis are likely to hit Sri Lanka in the next few hours.
Article also on Aus. ABC news online, although not as 'hard' on the potential timeline of when.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272785.htm 

 A survivor’s story

 U.S. Offers Aid to Quake Victims; at Least 3 Americans Among Dead

 Horror began deep beneath Indian Ocean
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2004/12/27/798157-sun.html

 Waves that bring death faster than a jumbo jet
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=596140

 Plate Tectonics

Would this have been considered a warning?

December 23, 2004

Biggest Earthquake of Year Shakes Ocean Floor Off New Zealand

 With No Plan for a Warning, Indian Ocean Was Exposed

 Tsunami warning system flawed, say experts

Videos

Asian Quakes' Tsunami Kill More Than 8,000

Tsunami Hits Southeast Asia

Tsunami Strikes Thai Resort

[backhoe]

 Shock waves picked up in Central Park (Earthquake) -- Within 20 minutes  American researchers realized the potential for tsunamis and tried to get the word out, calling embassies, U.S. naval bases and the State Department.