quakes above 7.5 can make tsunamis.
I wonder if it could hit hawaii? or is the quake on the far side of japan from it
Oh man, my son is at Misawa AB and I think it's in Northern Japan. Geez, I'm gonna call him right now.
Perhaps the most important earthquake to study to understand tsunami destruction at a distance is the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 (a 9.5 magnitude earthquake). That earthquake devastated Hilo, Hawaii, areas of the Philippines, a couple of local areas in Japan, and of course Chile. What is important is that reflected waves or waves caused at different points can combine in certain areas to amplify locally. This is why Hilo, Hawaii was devastated in 1960, but most of Hawaii was unscathed. It is interesting to note that Hilo, Hawaii was hit by several small waves from the tsunami (like parts in Japan) before a larger devastating wave hit. from the Great Earthquake of 2004 may help you to see how it acts. The major lesson is to evacuate everywhere that the tsunami could possibly have these amplifying actions (or just the original wavefront) that exceed a certain setpoint. More information on the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960.
tsunami watch for Hawaii and parts of Alaska as well.
