Posted on 12/28/2004 11:44:00 AM PST by crush-the-left
I just had a scary (though possibly naive) thought.
I've read quite a bit about the La Palma volcano in the Canary Islands triggering a "mega-tsunami". From what I've read this is a virtually certainty in the next 2000 years. Apparently an eruption 60+ years ago "loosened" a massive piece of rock from the side of the mountain creating a 6 foot "crack" as it moved towards the Atlantic ocean. If and when this 20+ mile piece of rock collapses into the ocean, a maga-tsunami would be generated that could be up to to 1000 feet high, moving across the Atlantic at 500 mph and bringing destruction to the entire east coast of the US, as well as Cuba, the Bahamas and the entire Atlantic Ovean region. This would absolutely dwarf the Indonesia tsunami, and millions could be killed.
With this in mind, wouldn't this be an easy target for terrorists? Maybe I'm mistaken but couldn't several tons of strategically placed explosives throughout this 6 foot "crack" set the landslide in motion....kind of like a skier starting an avalanche with a kick?
Hopefully I am incorrect. Opinions are certainly welcome....
I got the Robinson book at the library and read it last Thursday night (until 3:30 am) and Friday morning. I agree 100% with your comments about Kennedy worship. The only reason Sen. Teddy would care about the tsunami is that it would wipe out Hyannis Port and most of Boston.
Are you related to Tommy Thompson? (Just joking)
That would probably have some serious negative side-effects on friendly/allied nations nearby...
Why don't we all get together and come up with a long list of all the things the terrorists could do to bring harm to our country. Who knows, maybe we could dream up some things that hadn't occurred to them. (Dripping with sarcasm) Isn't there enough going on to occupy journalists and bloggers so that this type of speculation could be avoided? No? Maybe, it's just me.
Actually, the water (as a tsunami wave) does not move -- it is simply energy transferrance, until the depth decreases in its path.
Regarding the power required to split off the aforementioned section of La Palma: if the 1940s eruption lacked sufficient power to do it I doubt a few tons of explosives could it.
Nah. Unless the hunk of rock is just barely hanging on by a thread, in which case driving a heavy truck back and forth along it might do it. ;')
Massive Tsunami Sweeps Atlantic Coast In Asteroid Impact Scenario (Surf's Up)
UC Santa Cruz Press Release | May 27, 2003 | UC Santa Cruz Press Release
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/919723/posts
Hollywood fantasy? Tidal wave disaster is just waiting to happen
The Guardian Unlimited ^ | August 10, 2004 | Ian Sample
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1189804/posts
'Rogue waves' reported by mariners get scientific backing
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1176910/posts
Ship-sinking monster waves revealed by ESA satellites European Space Agency ^ | 7/21/04
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1176837/posts
Ship-sinking Monstor Waves Revealed By ESA Satellites
European Space Agency. | 21 July 2004
Posted on 07/25/2004 12:36:29 AM PDT by Yosemitest
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178061/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178061/posts?page=8#8
Books, Magazines, Movies, Music Amazon ^ | March 2004 | Anatoly T. Fomenko
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1169550/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1169550/posts?page=50#50
Giant wave could threaten US
BBC ^ | 10 August 2004
Posted on 08/09/2004 8:34:11 PM PDT by FormerACLUmember
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1188396/posts
Tidal wave threat 'over-hyped'
BBC UK ^ | Oct. 30, 2004
Posted on 10/31/2004 9:35:18 AM PST by Company Man
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1263784/posts
I think it would be technically feasible : collapsing the Ross shelf in Antartica would probably cause a tsunami of an unseeen strength...Wasn't there a thriller about that, called "Icefire" or something ?
I've been researching this for a few years. (The volcano not the terrorists).
IMHO - A couple of things everyone should be aware of. There have been two "slides" of monumental proportions in our lifetime,(actually 101 years).
One occured in 1958 in Lituya (or Letuya)Bay Alaska, when an earthquake caused a portion of a mountain side to slip into a fairly remote bay and speed out to sea. The immediate wave was over 1700 feet high and scoured the coastline of all vegetation and killed a few people fishing in the bay. That's over 5 1/2 football fields! And it moved down the bay and out into the ocean in less than 4 minutes.
The second was a rock slide that occurred at Turtle Mountain in Alberta Canada in April 1903. Now even though this was a rock slide and not a tsunami there are some things that we should all keep in mind. The Turtle Mountain slide took 100 seconds - during that two minutes 90 million tons of limestone plummeted down the mountain flank, across the nearly two mile wide valley floor, and climbed up the opposite slope to a height of 400 feet. It turned half of the mining town of Frank, Alberta into toothpicks and killed 70 people. All in under two minutes.
A mega-tsunami generated by the Cumbra Veija would take a little more than a day (8-9 hours)to hit the east coast of the U.S. with the first wave. (I don't know about you, but after seeing the traffic jams this year caused by Floridians fleeing hurricanes with 2 and 3 days notice - I'm not all that comfortable with our evacuation plans, or the way in which our citizenry respond to evac orders!) Boston would be first hit of the major east coast cities, then NYC, and then on down the coast. The tsunami would have spread out during it's Atlantic crossing and estimates are that the first pressure wave would ONLY be 50 meters high when it climbs the Atlantic shelf and sweeps ashore for a few miles. Say goodbye to the Caribbean Islands, the Florida Keys, Cuba, and the major coastal cities in South America. The east coast of the US would be scoured, just like Lituya Bay and Frank Canada.
As we have found out in California and Japan, saturated mountain terrain can let go with mudslides and land slides with terrifying and deadly effect. Tremors along fault lines, and certainly along already unstable volcanic faults could cause La Palma to become more unstable. Mother Nature has an unpleasant way of showing humans how costly our arrogance can be!
I would neither discount or scoff at any idea concerning terrorists using explosives at La Palma. There are so many porous Nuclear sites in the former Soviet Union, so many caches of poorly guarded or unguarded explosives around the world that it's not too far-fetched that terrorists might plot/plan/strategize such an attack. You might not always agree with the intellegence services but one thing they've said is absolutely true..."the terrorists only have to be right once - we have to be right every time." Does anyone want to face the consequences?
Now, couple a terrorist plot with Mother Nature's rainy season saturating the slopes of the Cumbra Veija....I don't want to think about the potential result. But I sure do hope the US and the Brits have some teams in place to keep an eye on things.
Don't ever get too cocky! To paraphrase the "Rule of 6 P's." Perfect - Preparation - Prevents - Piss - Poor - Performance.
And I hope I'm wrong.
BTW - Google "Lituya Bay tsunami" and "Cumbra Veija or La Palma" to see pictures and read other accounts.
Happy New Year!
Bigeasy
|
Hey, I had a great tag line back then....
“Big government is still a big problem.” Your new one is still pretty good.
I don’t know if someone at CSI Miami was reading Free Republic back in 2004, But that program did use a Canary caused tsunami in a story with a 20 or 30 foot wave several years ago.
Note: this topic is from 12/28/2004. Thanks crush-the-left.
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