Does anyone know how long a time elapses between the earthquake and the tsumanis hitting lang? I was a little surprised better advance warnings could not have been given, even if it's just a police officer in a truck with a bullhorn.
Somewhere, among all those links, are some diagrams of the sea, land masses, wave action, and a little more- but dogged if I can remember which ones they were in-- you'll have to hunt. Look for a blue-green cross-section drawing of an island in the water.
It's a function of distance. I believe Sri Lanka and India had 1 1/2 hours from the quake to the Tsunami impact. Phuket Thailand would have had the wave hit sooner.
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.
Tsunamis can travel across open ocean at up to 500 mph. You could be on a cruise ship out in the middle of the sea and have one go under you and never notice it, because it would only be a foot or two high. It's only when they hit shallow water inshore that they slow down and pile up to great height.
Considering that this one caused devastation 1500 miles away from the earthquake's epicenter, there would've been at least a three-hour time lag before it hit some places. But, I guess that not all earthquakes, even powerful ones, create tsunamis this devastating...any seismologists have an idea?
}:-)4
It expands from the epicenter at the velocity of sound in water. Generally, that's a little under a mile per second.
That's the initial shockwave. The actual tsunami follows, the speed being a factor of depth of the ocean at the epicenter and along the way to the point of impact. . .
I heard on the new last night that when the bays started to empty because of the approach of the wave, people were walking out into the bay to pick up the stranded fish, only to be wiped out by the wave.
The waves travel at 500 mph. it couldn't have taken long to cross that bit of ocean.
I don't know how quickly right at the site, that the tsunami's hit.
Fox news had an item on it that NOAA sent out by email a tsunami warning 20 MINUTES after the big quake. Evidently, NONE of the governments made use of the email though NOAA is certain that at least Indonesia and likely all the governments received it. There's some evidence that officials were reluctant to share the warning for fear of hurting the tourism industry.
In spite of all that, the official on watch at NOAA at the time is kicking himself for not using the net to look up hotels etc. in the area and phone them a warning. Incredible.