Panic before the storm (a terribly sad series of three pictures taken as the tsunami approaches)

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | 12/30/04

[dead]

Tourists run for their lives as the first of six tsunamis starts to roll towards Hat Rai
Lay Beach, near Krabi in southern Thailand. One woman runs towards the waves.
Photo: AFP

The woman continues to run as the wave advances.
Photo: AFP

With the waves engulfing boats, the woman makes contact with her group. It is not known if they survived.
Photo: AFP

[oldcomputerguy]

"Things simply happen too fast, the distances to safety too great."

I seem to recall a witness description indicating an elapsed time of 50 minutes from the time the water was sucked out of a bay till the wave came in. I believe in the Hilo event, curious people went to pick up fish etc that were exposed.

[monday]

"These people don't have a chance, outside the grace of God."

Of course they had a chance. The trick to surviving waves of any size is either getting over them or under them. The killing zone is the impact zone between water and land.

Surfers regularly surf waves 15 to 20 ft. or higher. They are able to do this by avoiding the impact zone by diving under it. People on land can avoid the impact zone by running to higher ground, going over the impact zone.

Bad luck determined the fate of many of those who died, but many more could have saved themselves with a little knowledge and quick thinking.

[fso301]

Many people who survived the brunt of the wave died anyway when the wave sucked them so far out. The receding wave pulled anyone in the water hundreds of meters out to sea ... sort of like a rip tide except there's no way to escape it.

I've also been in rip tides and undertows. As teenagers, we actually sought them out but we also had extensive experience whereas the typical European tourist wouldn't. When dealing with a strong current, rip tide or undertow, don't panic and don't fight it are the carnidal rules of survival.

I would have been most frightened of the debris and of being crashed into stationary objects on the shore. On the outflow, I would have been less concerned with being swept out to sea than I would have of of coming in contact with all the debris... either on the initial surge or retreat.

[monday]

"This was purportedly caused by a landslide event i.e. a slosh. Undersea events cannot cause waves this high."

I think that depends on the size of the undersea event. Incidentally this "slosh" is what would happen if the 20 mile chunk of Las Palmas were to let go in the Atlantic. Many experts think it, (the Las Palmas Volcano) couldn't cause tsunamis either.

I think what is possible depends on which expert you talk to. I suspect almost anything is 'possible' under the right circumstances.

[BobS]

You simply climb up through the water when the turbulence stabilizes. You will be carried along with it and not have broken bones.

[RobRoy]

It's not the waves, it is the currents. You could try to "punch" these waves and find yourself in swirling currents ten or more feet underwater for ten or more minutes. Not survivable by most people.

Remember, this was not waves, it was walls of water - a very different phenomenon. If you can stay on the surface, great.

[PleaseNoMore]

I would have done the same thing as this woman. I would have wanted to die with my family if I couldn't save them.

[Sender]

I think the pressure wave can travel through deep blue water at superfast speeds, but it slows down considerably as the wave is forced up by the shore. It trades off velocity as it becomes tall and visible. But I'm sure it hits fast enough that resistance is futile.

[NittanyLion]

Surfers regularly surf waves 15 to 20 ft. or higher. They are able to do this by avoiding the impact zone by diving under it. People on land can avoid the impact zone by running to higher ground, going over the impact zone.

Yes, but in those cases the idea is that you dive through the wave and come out the back side. These waves have no back side to speak of; they're literally a wall of water.

[hosepipe]

[ Is that dark blue thing way in the background the tsunami? If so, it is HUGE ]

May I be the first to say....
No good pun goes unpunished... LoL..

[monday]

"It's not the waves, it is the currents. You could try to "punch" these waves and find yourself in swirling currents ten or more feet underwater for ten or more minutes. Not survivable by most people."

Surfers don't "punch" through waves. They dive under them. If the wave is large, they leave their surf board on the surface. This is the only way to avoid the impact zone.

True, the larger the wave the larger the impact zone, however there are many reports of people who survived swimming or snorkeling or scuba diving. They had a much better chance than the people on the beach or in shallow water had.

Incidentally, the surface would have been the absolute worst place to be out on the water. It would have guaranteed being dragged along into the impact zone.

[Ignatz]

Would it be possible to generate a tsunami of this size by detonating a nuclear device on the sea floor?

[cubreporter]

The force alone would be like a brick wall and...it is carrying sand and whatever else from the ocean floor. Can only imagine the damage it can do when it hits a human cause we sure saw on some of those videos how quickly it hit buildings and filled them with water. God help this woman as she saw it coming. She must have been overwhelmed with fear for her family. Wow. Very, very, very heartbreaking.

[Taliesan]

If my 6 year old had been out there I would most certainly run toward him, no matter what was coming at me. He is not going to die alone if I can help it.

[monday]

"Yes, but in those cases the idea is that you dive through the wave and come out the back side. "

NO. The idea is to dive under the wave. You cannot dive through a wave of that size even if it isn't a tsunami. You must either get over the wave by going to higher ground, or get under the wave by diving under it.

[cubreporter]

What a feeling of helplessness and fear for the lives of her family. Shear terror.

[NittanyLion]

NO. The idea is to dive under the wave. You cannot dive through a wave of that size even if it isn't a tsunami. You must either get over the wave by going to higher ground, or get under the wave by diving under it.

Even a big wave, though, is going to pass by and allow you to surface in a relatively calm lull. A tsunami wave is going to continue to pound you into the shoreline as it drags you into land, because no lull follows the initial wave.

[libravoter]

Have you seen any of the eyewitness videos? (post #109)

[monday]

"Even a big wave, though, is going to pass by and allow you to surface in a relatively calm lull. A tsunami wave is going to continue to pound you into the shoreline as it drags you into land, because no lull follows the initial wave."

The only moving water in the initial wave, or in any wave, is that which is at the breaking edge. Once you surface after the breaking edge has passed, the wave will likely move you many yards towards the beach but it will not be as rushing currents. Instead the whole ocean will move toward the beach. It will seem very calm.

The real danger will come when currents start moving back out to sea. Then one wants to swim with the current and probably grab onto anything large that floats by.

I have surfed big waves. I know about this sort of thing.

[oldcomputerguy]

" I think that depends on the size of the undersea event"

My recollection of the explanation is that undersea events are the result of plate tectonics and never shift more than dozens of feet, not thousands of feet, therefore they cannot cause waves of the 1700 foot variety.