Tsunami Hits Hawaii, Headed for U.S. Mainland
- Posted on March 11, 2011 at 7:55am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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HONOLULU (AP) — Tsunami waves hit Hawaii in the early morning hours Friday and were sweeping through the island chain after an earthquake in Japan sparked evacuations throughout the Pacific and as far as the U.S. western coast.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Kauai was the first island hit early Friday by the tsunami. Water rushed ashore in Honolulu, swamping the beach in Waikiki and surging over the break wall in the world-famous resort but stopping short of the area’s high-rise hotels.
Waves at least 3 feet high were recorded on Oahu and Kauai, and officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger.
Roadways and beaches were empty as the tsunamis struck the state, which had hours to prepare. Residents in coastal areas of Hawaii were sent to refuge areas at community centers and schools while tourists in Waikiki were moved to higher floors of their high-rise hotels. People waited in long lines stocking up on gas, bottled water, canned food and generators, and officials told residents to stock up on water and fill their cars with gas.
Sirens woke residents in the middle of the night in Hawaii, where the governor ordered the evacuation of coastal areas and warned residents to take the threat seriously. People waited in long lines stocking up on gas, bottled water, canned food and generators, and officials told residents to stock up on water and fill their cars with gas.
The tsunami slammed the eastern coast of Japan, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. It’s traveling at 500 mph – as fast as a jetliner – and likely won’t change speed until it hits a large area of land, said Kanoah Koyanagi, a geophysicist for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Waves are predicted to hit the western coast of the United States between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. EST Friday. People near the beach and in low-lying coastal areas of Point Conception in Santa Barbara County were told to move immediately inland to higher ground.
While the tsunami is likely to go around smaller islands, the size of Hawaii’s islands will amplify the waves, which will crash hardest against harbors and inlets.
“They’re going to be coming in with high currents, they can pick up boulders from the sea floor … they can pick up cars, they can pick up fuel tanks, those things become battering rams and so it just amplifies the destruction in a big tsunami,” said Chip McCreery, director for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Waves almost 5 feet high hit Midway, a tiny island in the North Pacific about 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu.
“We‘re preparing for the worst and we’re praying for the best,” said John Cummings III, spokesman for the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management.
The Honolulu International Airport remained open but seven or eight jets bound for Hawaii have turned around, including some originating from Japan, the state Department of Transportation said.
All harbors are closed and vessels were being ordered to leave the harbor.
The warnings issued by the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cover an area stretching the entire western coast of the United States and Canada from the Mexican border to Chignik Bay in Alaska.
In Alaska, a dozen small communities along the Aleutian Island chain were on alert. In Oregon, county officials in Oregon were assessing whether to sound sirens; waves in Brookings in southern Oregon could also hit 6 feet.
The tsunami was expected to hit the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory at 4 a.m. EST, but no big waves came. Waves about 2.6 feet high hit the beach in Saipan, and sirens still sounded in the empty streets.
Maria Mettao, who works at the front desk of the Hyatt Regency Saipan in the Northern Marianas, said hotel staff has been given the all-clear. Mettao said the hotel has allowed guests to leave from the higher floors where they had been evacuated.
In the Philippines, officials ordered an evacuation of coastal communities along the country’s eastern seaboard in expectation of a tsunami following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan.
Disaster management officials in Albay province southeast of Manila say they ordered residents to move to designated evacuation sites that are at least 15 feet above sea level.
In Guam, authorities advised people to evacuate low areas of the U.S. territory and seek ground higher than 50 feet above sea level and 100 feet inland.
Australia was not in danger because it was protected by island nations to the north, including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, that would largely absorb any wave activity, said Chris Ryan, a forecaster at the National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre, the Australian government agency that monitors the threat.
The warning was issued Thursday at 9:31 HST p.m. Sirens were sounded about 30 minutes later in Honolulu alerting people in coastal areas to evacuate. About 70 percent of Hawaii’s 1.4 million population resides in Honolulu, and as many as 100,000 tourists are in the city on any given day.
Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management has created refuge areas at community centers and schools, and authorities on Kauai island have opened 11 schools to serve as shelters for those who have left tsunami inundation zones.
Streets cleared out across Hawaii with usually bustling Waikiki mostly free of any foot traffic, with police ordering every one into the hotels. At the hotels, visitors were evacuated to the third floor and higher.
“The situation we’re confronting right now is unpredictable. We do not know how many waves are going to be coming,” said Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle. “We do not know which wave, if any wave, causes the most damage and how long the series of waves can last. As a result of that, it is our responsibility to do those things which are absolutely essential to ensure that human life is saved.”
A small 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island just before 2 a.m., but there were no reports of damages and the quakes weren’t likely related, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey said.
U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews were making preparations throughout the Hawaiian Islands to provide post-tsunami support, with cutter and aircraft crews positioning themselves to conduct response and survey missions.
Dennis Fujimoto said the mood is calm but concerned on the island of Kauai while people readying for the tsunami.
There’s long lines at gas stations, and at the Wal-Mart, one of the few places that was open to midnight, people were stocking up on supplies.
“You got people walking out of there with wagonloads of water,” he said.
The worst big wave to strike the U.S. was a 1946 tsunami caused by a magnitude of 8.1 earthquake near Unimak Islands, Alaska, that killed 165 people, mostly in Hawaii. In 1960, a magnitude 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile caused a tsunami that killed at least 1,716 people, including 61 people in Hilo. It also destroyed most of that city’s downtown. On the U.S. mainland, a 1964 tsunami from a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Prince William Sound, Alaska, struck Washington State, Oregon and California. It killed 128 people, including 11 in Crescent City, Calif.
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Associated Press Writers contributing to this report include Mark Niesse and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Denise Petski in Los Angeles, Kathy McCarthy in Seattle, Michelle Price and Carson Walker in Phoenix.
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MrToad
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 5:09pmAnybody heard about Misawa AB (about 175 miles north of epicenter)?
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:22pmSurf’s Up!
Report Post »Insanityrules
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:35amVet,
I agree post rap is solid teaching. The reason? It is the latter rain. No one builds an army and hides them when the real fighting begins. After all, is it sung this way? “Onward Christian soldiers hiding from the war.”?
Isa 24:1 See, the Lord is making the earth waste and unpeopled, he is turning it upside down, and sending the people in all directions.
The heads of government are falling, the people are rising. It is upside down. Sending the people, not scattering the people indicates the latter rain. It is to send His people through out the earth with power and wonders, so that many shall have their eyes opened and believe.
Today few Christians shed much light under close examination. But the darker it gets, the brighter we shall be. Even one who can’t be seen as shining in a dark room will appear blinding in the dark that is to follow.
I pray that few are lost in this tragedy. That was a pretty strong quake.
Report Post »jmn
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:53amLets give this the proper Fox News spin job.
Report Post »Commie Liberal Thug UnionTsunami Hits Hawaii, Headed for U.S. Mainland
GhostOfJefferson
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 12:15pmYour humanity and concern for the victims of this earthquake and the potential loss of life and occupations from the aftermath is touching. Thankfully, you didn’t devolve into cheap political posturing in order to gratify your own desire for attention.
That said, it sounds like things may turn out all right for most in Hawaii and hopefully the West Coast.
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:16amI hope all of our military families are safe in Japan and Hawaii! This is so sad.
Report Post »MBA
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:58amI don’t know if this helps but I work for Toshiba and they sent out a statement that all of their sites were safe in Japan.
Report Post »bobdee
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:56amThere are no atheist’s in the wake of a tsunami.
Report Post »SGTMAC
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:51amShag and ssbn_vet this is not the time to crack jokes or to have a peeing contest…….
Pray gentlemen……. Pray. For all in Japan and for those in the path. That is what it is time to do.
Report Post »Katayno
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:50amWI off the frontline news……Jessie J and Michael M. are saying, “DAMN…why now!!!”
Report Post »chickenlittle
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:05amIn addition to mirroring most other sentiments on here, I was thinking the exact same thing… the unions must be pissed off. Betcha the protesting drops off if they can’t get on the headlines.
Report Post »Atokaite
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:48amNorthern Shore of Oahu, Mali, Pokai Bay, Wainine, North shore surfing beaches. ANY word there?
Report Post »These areas are off the tourist sites, likely to feel the waves first.
bt
Guam, Saipain, Okinawa, all have adequate high ground. Early warning is the key.
Pray hard forlks. Note the Double Sun Sunset in China, just last week.
Semper FI
end
VRW Conspirator
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:00am8 ft hit north western Big Island….6-7 ft hit Maui…..
Report Post »waves poured in a couple of hundred feet from the high tide lines…..
Nosocialists
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:46amWe are going to Hawaii at the end of the month, so we are watching this very closely. Fortunately we purchased insurance in case the trip is cancelled.
Kudos to those of you who know your Bible. God is a just God, but He does not withold is anger forever. Is this the beginning of end times? I don’t know. All I know is I want to be ready if it is, or if I die before it happens.
Report Post »Marylou7
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:14amMe too. It doesn‘t matter when the end days are if you’re ready. No need to worry about yourself, God will take care of you. It’s our duty to care for others.
Report Post »shagstar
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:39am@ssbn_vet
Report Post »back-off dude!
i’m an old vet who served my country honorably and does not like lefties!
i added a little humor to a devestating night and do not need any retoric from a moron like you!
have a nice day
SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:13amI’m sorry if I offended you. I apologize for me being offended at your post. I sat here and watched the tragedy as it took place in Japan and I was deeply moved by the tragedy that I witnessed. I just don‘t don’t respond well to people being humorous when it comes to an event that causes the loss of life, especially to the magnitude that this event is going to prove to be. I find that lefties are the ones that respond to such things with apathy at best and most of the time with sarcasm. I apologize once again for misunderstanding your response.
Report Post »catndahat
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:18amRing of Fire, solar flares, when does the Mayan calendar end???
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:25amLong after the Mayans ended, how smart could they have been?
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:51amThousands and thousands of years from now. 2012 isn’t the end of the world, it’s the end of the calendar cycle, which then starts on another 4000 year cycle.
Report Post »VRW Conspirator
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:58amthe calendar cycle ends Dec 21, 2012…yes…12-21-12 my tenth wedding anniversary… how fitting that i picked the end of the world as my wedding date.. LOL….
Ghost…i thought the Mayan calendar was made in 2000 year cycles….with an inner cycle of 200 years and a center cycle that was their annual lunar calendar…
Gonzo… we don’t know what happened to the Mayan…they just disappeared about 1500 AD after ruling the Central America- Southern Mexico area for about 3000 years….maybe they were RAPTURED… LOL
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:42am@VRW
You may be right. The 2012 thing is based on the Mesoamerican “long count” calendar which I confess I know very little about, not being a scholar of the ancient Mayans/Amerinds. Somebody whom I trust told me it was a 4,000 year cycle (give or take I think), but I may have not heard him correctly or he may well be wrong. I tried to look it up a bit for this post, but it gave me a slight headache, far too many periods, cycles and idiosyncrasies for me to make heads or tails out of it, lol.
I do know however that 2012 is just the end of an old cycle, and beginning of a new one.
Report Post »shagstar
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:11amwhat a disturbing news feed i just witnessed!
Report Post »a gigantic,,1 inch wave just consumed hawaii
i,just pray that the ants made it to high ground!
SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:26am@shagstar
So your leftist utopia isn’t really concerned about the loss of human life? At least as long as it doesn’t concern what your messiah, little barry, can control right? You people are such hypocrits…
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:06amApparently someone found President Obama’s birth certificate floating around in the streets in Hawaii. Unfortunately several rough drafts were also found floating around as well.
Report Post »audaxrex
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:04am*snicker*
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:55amI wonder how long it will take Al Gore and co. to use this to push global warming theories, “never let a crisis go to waste”.
Report Post »goatkid
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:04amIts amazing what nature can do. But I’m sure that they will attribute it to global warming, and say that it‘s Bush’s fault.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:20amHadn’t thought of that one Goat but, you’re right. Must be W’s fault one way or another.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:31amSeriously Gonzo? Plate tectonics are plate tectonics. Even eco-religionists have some vague notion that plate tectonics are responsible for earthquakes.
Report Post »middleclassprophet
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:07amLeave it to posters on Duh Blaze to comment on a tragedy and bringing politics into it. Pathetic.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:52am@middleclassprophet
“Leave it to posters on Duh Blaze to comment on a tragedy and bringing politics into it. Pathetic.”
Don’t be so Soviet. Most of the posters here and on other threads are speaking directly to, and only about, the earthquake. There are a handful who are not, so you indict “the collective” based on a few bad apples. Further, the ONLY comment I’ve seen from you regarding this earthquake, is one of you belittling others and not once commenting on the disaster at hand. Physician, heal thyself.
Report Post »jedi.kep
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:51amPrayers need sent for people all around the globe today. Do your part
Report Post »stinkybisquit
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:45amListening to KHVH Hawaii on my phone; callers saying it’s low tide, so lower waves, but telltale signs of tsunami action, where the reefs are exposed before the waves com in.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:51amI wonder if all the wildlife is heading for higher ground like it did in Indonesia?
Report Post »QuantumVerp
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:18amSpoken as ‘ghost of spooky dood’ voice:
I vould like to tell you vatt to do, but all of a sudden the scientists, who say 6 billion people can cause climate warming, would guffaw and say 6 billion people can not do anything to affect seismic activity…
Why am I talking like this?
The Sun burst an extra 1% of 1%… the Earth is now a warmer putty. Oh, you didn’t know? The Earth is made of ‘putty’… if you build a skyscraper 43 miles high the foundation would melt, turn into a molten ‘putty’. I’ll assess the further energy which will need to be worked out of the Earth… hmmm… I’ll have to oversight the whole predicament from about the orbit of …. tee hee hee
Who named the planets around here? !!**
I can’t say it… how do you expect me to take you seriously!
ROFLMAO
Report Post »Oil_Robb
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:26amI suspect the earth is not the only thing made of PUTTY
Report Post »TexasProgressive
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:27amwow, you are very high, right?
Report Post »staggerlee32
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:12amA Chronological History:
Report Post »The New World Order
by D.L. Cuddy, Ph.D
http://www.khouse.org/articles/1997/90/
SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:12amEarthquakes in diverse places…
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:15am“Birth pangs”
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:17am@SSBN_VET ~ Indeed…. GOD BLESS!
Report Post »SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:30am@ Gonzo
Report Post »Our Father in Heaven is definitely setting His Church aside and calling us out to serve Him. Please seek the truth, each and every reader of The Blaze. Put dogma aside and seek Jesus with all of your heart, every reader of this site…
Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:42amIt’s getting pretty obvious Vet, isn’t it?
Report Post »SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:58am@Gonzo
Yes. It is definitely freaking me out… I pastor a Free Church and we work dilligently to put all dogma aside in order to seek Jesus with all of our hearts. It is difficult being that we are all filled with dogma from our different denominations but the events that are taking place in the world keep us grounded in our faith. I pray that the LORD Jesus Christ comes back soon to deliver us from the awful tribulation that lurks around us in this day and age. I’m afraid that the book of Jerimiah is directed towards those of us that live in this day and age…
Report Post »SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:11amCorrection….I should have written “Jeremiah”
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:18amHey Vet, Have faith brother, have faith. He told us he would, has he ever been wrong? You’ll meet him in the air!
Report Post »Deutscher
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:44amPastor I can tell you two things for certain.
1) there have been earthquakes in diverse places for billions of years since the beginnings of the planet. And they will continue.
2) Christians of every single generation since 40AD have thought they were the last.
I hate to disappoint but there will be more and worse quakes. And you are not going to float away when things get bad ( unless you have a balloon of course).
Natural events happen. I’m very happy it caused a relatively small loss of life.
Report Post »Shouldn’t that be the religious persons response? Rather than gleefully looking for your personal escape hatch in the form of the “rapture”?
SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:49am@Gonzo
I don’t want to get too controversial here. I do however have a problem with the dogmatic teaching of the time of the rapture. The Bible says “ at the last trump”… you can believe whatever you want about the timing of the rapture but I take the Bible at it’s word. If the last trump means the last trump then the book of Jeremiah is about God’s judgement on the church so the believers in a pre-tribulation rapture have been decieved. Don‘t take my word for it and don’t take your pastor‘s or your denomination’s word for it… look it up. I did. The teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture is responsible for the seventh day adventists and the jehovah’s witnesses… look it up for yourself. There was never such teaching until the 19th century. Read Jeremiah from the perspective of the rapture happening at the last trump according to the book of Revelation and you will see what I am saying. Please, look it up and don’t take dogmatic teaching as truth without verifying it for yourselves…Question with boldness, even the existence of God…
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:23amHey Vet, I have looked it all up and studied under some good teachers. Pre trib, mid trib, post trib, whatever turns out to be the real deal is God’s will, you know? Anybody that tells you they know exactly what’s going to happen is fool or a cult leader. I’ll trust God and when it comes, it comes. I’m ready, sounds like you are too! See you there. :-)
Report Post »SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:55am@Deutscher
Report Post »I don’t preach that we are going to escape by a rapture. I preach that the tribulation is God’s judgement on the Church according to the book of Jeremiah. So if you think that I am rejoicing because of the tragedies that are becoming of the world then you sir, are mistaken. I believe that the rapture takes place on the last trump, which is when Christ returns to save the world from mankind at the battle of Armegeddon in the Valley of Megiddo. Don’t mistake me for a mainstream, prosperity preacher. I teach my flock to prepare for the worst and pray for the best. I also teach that a pastor is to follow the flock and protect them rather than to be exalted as someone that is above them. I am their servant because I am a servant of Christ. I don’t sit in a throne on the platform. I sit at the lowest place in the church until I preach the message then I return to the seat of servitude. The church council and the elders run the church and sit at the places of honor. I am their servant as opposed to mainstream Christianity’s upside-down view that the pastor sits at the place of honor.
SSBN_VET
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:02am@Gonzo
I think that you are right on track and I hope that others will follow your example of God’s will in their lives. Like I said, we prepare for the worse and hope for the best… Worse can scenario, we are here for the long haul.
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:38amIn the last several years we have had many epic earthquakes – makes a person wonder if the end it not near and Glenn has been right about a lot of things! http://wp.me/pYLB7-Jm
Report Post »GONESURFING
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:26pmThrough much tribulation do we enter into the Kingdom of God, says Paul in the book of Acts.
Report Post »RN MOM
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:09amI am praying for the people of Hawaii right now, I hope the damage is minimal and everyone is safe. I pray our west coast is sparred too.
Report Post »dat bee
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:53amThank-you!
Report Post »poppajoe
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:09amAnybody read,see or hear any news fm Okinawa ?
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:14amWatching and the clock counted down about 5 mins ago but no reports on FOX as of yet on Hawaii. I will pray for the people in harms way.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:18amFirst wave has hit Kauai which is the most NW island and was expecting a 6′ wave. Have not heard Okinawa mentioned yet.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:48amReports coming in on FOX indicate waves are less than expected. Pray this is true, but not confirmed as it is still dark.
Report Post »stinkybisquit
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:51amJust heard (8:50 eastern) Midway had 8′ surge.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:55am“Waves at least 3 feet high were recorded on Oahu and Kauai”
Ah, ok. So no actual real reason to panic, based on information *thus far*. 3 foot waves don’t even qualify as “gnarly surfing, dude” in Hawaii, let alone something to panic over.
This opinion of course is subject to change if the waves intensify. Right now though, looks like Hawaii missed the bullet. Alaska seems like it might be in line to take a bigger hit though, we’ll see.
Report Post »machogwapo
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 8:59amOkinawa is fine, no damages reported, all US personnel accounted for and they stand by to get instruction to assist with recovery/rescue operations if requested by GOJ. That comes from Marines there, and my good friend there.
Report Post »Wilma
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:08amGuam and many other islands are in the path of the tsunami. They are closer than Hawaii. Why no mention of them?
Report Post »Wilma
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:25amTsunami warnings also issued for Guam, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Micronesia and Hawaii
Report Post »dat bee
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 9:52amPeople in Okinawa are fine. Happy to give good news!
Report Post »VRW Conspirator
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:49amdon’t count the waves as being nothing just because of their height….
even a 6-8 ft wave..which is a good surfing wave…is different than an 6-8 ft tsunami wave….
a tsunami wave does not come in and go out like a normal wave…the tsunami wave comes in and comes in and comes in….look at the video from Japan…that wave was only 7meters, 23 feet…yet the wave pushed inland 10′s of miles….into the interior of the island and flooding the farming region and airport….
this wave might only be 6 feet high in HI or CA or OR but it will push and push and push for not just 10 seconds like a normal wave but 10 minutes…
Fox Report… Maui… 5-7 ft in height… Big Island 8ft….water pours several hundred feet inland from the water line….waves hitting 15-20 minutes apart…..
that is long….a 5-7 foot wall of water that travels inland for 15-20 minutes….beautiful and horrify is the power of nature…
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 1:54pm@VWR
You’re correct to a point. A tsunami wave has far more energy than a normal wind generated wave of the same size. A normal everyday wave is only a surface wave; only the surface water and the water perhaps a couple of feet beneath the surface is moving. In a tsunami wave the entire water column is moving, from the surface to the ocean floor.
There’s a lot more energy involved with a tsunami wave for sure. But a three foot wave still isn’t going to do anything, tsunami or not. It has to be high enough to go over the land in it’s path.
Report Post »LetUsReason
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm3 foot tsunami waves are MUCH different than 3-foot surfing waves….more momentum and force.
Report Post »GONESURFING
Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:51pmIn Hawaii there is some damage, but not widespread, we dodged a bullet here and are very lucky for the most part. Pray for Japan, where the damage is horrible and the death toll is rising.
Report Post »Kookaburra
Posted on March 13, 2011 at 5:52pmKeep lying for Nobama Hawaii. You will seal your own fate.
Report Post »