tsunamis

this happened today here in the SF Bay Area and was followed by a 3.0 earthquake in the San Francisco area.


MENLO PARK (KRON) -- The United States Geological Survey says a magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean about 73 miles west southwest of Eureka.

The quake happened at 1:38 p.m.

We will have more on any possible damage or tsunami warnings as more information becomes available.


Why im posting this is I was watching on the History channel last night about how people in Asia were running towards the beach during the first stage of the tsunami. When a tsunami first begins it often will suck the ocean water away from the beach. There are 2 kinds of tsunamis, One sucks the ocean water out then with in an hour will create a wave up to hundreds or even thousands of feet high (very rare) while the other type will just cause a wave itself.


The kind of tsunami that occured a year ago had sucked water out into the ocean almost a mile off the coastline before a massive 60 foot wall of water slammed into the coastline.

What amazes me is that almost no animals (mostly elephants and other native species) were have found to dead after the tsumani cleanup. almost no animals other then fish were found. Animals have an instinct knowledge of taking cover during natural distaster while Humans seem to flock towards them out of pure curiosity. I believe the official toll of last years disaster stood at 300k human lives.

Im lucky to have parents who remembered the last California tsunami that took place in the 1960s after the great Alaskan 9.2 Anchorage quake. My mother remembered how people told reporters in San francsico that the water had moved out about a mile. Though San Franciscos *Ocean Beach* never experienced the severe damage that Eureka had (which killed about 100 people), it still recieved waves, that crashed well over the 15 foot breaker on Ocean Avenue.

My point is this.... I know enough from that talk with my parents (as a kid) that, If you, ever see the ocean start to receed, You run like hell for the highest point you can find. Not to be insensitive to those who lost their lives but it almost seems disturbing that Humans are very ignorant when the see something that isnt right. Instead of doing as other animals do and run away, they feel they need to take a closer look.

anyone agree that Humans in general are naturally destructive?

I think humans have a curiosity that can be self destructive.

knightly said:

I think humans have a curiosity that can be self destructive.

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If you saw the ocean water being pulled out and away from land, would you walk closer to it to see? I dont know if Im just naturally a coward or I sense things wrong but I think I would run like hell.

I would probably go investigate (given a phenomenon that I didn't know the cause of - sorry...of which I didn't know the cause). Specifically the water pulling away...I saw the same special on that, I would run like hell. Before I had seen that special...I would think through the physics first to try to determine the cause. If no answers came to me that way, I would go investigate and become a statistic.

Today in Thailand 5000 lanterns were released to remember those who lost their lives in the Boxing Day tsunami. Thailand is a holiday mecca to thousands Australia every year and many were lost, so the tsunami touched us all deeply and bought us even closer to the Thai people. I believe Australia alone donated something like 60 million dollars in aid- which is not bad considering the population is only about 23 million. A year later there is still plenty of housing needed but people are happy and getting on with life despite their loss/es.

People were on the beach that morning, and many were saved thanks to a 11 year old English girl who realised the receding sea meant a tsunami and ran up and down the beach shouting for people to get away (let's be thankful for geography lessons). Many did not escape as they stood laughing and watched the sea recede then took the full brunt of the wave. Even though I know a receding sea means a tsunami, I don't know if I would have stood there out of curiosity or run like hell for high ground.

Animals always know when Mother Nature is going to have a hissy-fit of sorts. Apparently a herd of elephants ran for the hills complete with shocked Japanese tourists sitting of their backs! No animals were found to be injured or drowned. Maybe animals could be used to warn humans of future impeding disasters.

S.M Tyler said:

Today in Thailand 5000 lanterns were released to remember those who lost their lives in the Boxing Day tsunami. Thailand is a holiday mecca to thousands Australia every year and many were lost, so the tsunami touched us all deeply and bought us even closer to the Thai people. I believe Australia alone donated something like 60 million dollars in aid- which is not bad considering the population is only about 23 million. A year later there is still plenty of housing needed but people are happy and getting on with life despite their loss/es.

People were on the beach that morning, and many were saved thanks to a 11 year old English girl who realised the receding sea meant a tsunami and ran up and down the beach shouting for people to get away (let's be thankful for geography lessons). Many did not escape as they stood laughing and watched the sea recede then took the full brunt of the wave. Even though I know a receding sea means a tsunami, I don't know if I would have stood there out of curiosity or run like hell for high ground.

Animals always know when Mother Nature is going to have a hissy-fit of sorts. Apparently a herd of elephants ran for the hills complete with shocked Japanese tourists sitting of their backs! No animals were found to be injured or drowned. Maybe animals could be used to warn humans of future impeding disasters.

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true, but lets be honest. An event like this only happens every few lifespans. like maybe 100-300 years on this level.

California had one in the 1960s but didnt kill alot of people because it had hit a region that wasnt that populated (but still killed like 50 people). Had it happened between Eureka and San francisco today, it could be in the tens of thousands. This was that hit asia was only 60-100 feet high. thats pretty big but some tsunamis are said to be as large as a quarter mile high. if such a wave hit the coast of San francisco or LA, it could kill millions.

I visualize a 1000 foot wave hitting the coast of San Francisco and going up and over the hills and washing down the other side bringing mud and water and debri down on the city.

I visualise another wave hitting the East coast of Australia- no more 'coathanger' bridge.

But you are right in saying that in the great scheme of things, tsunamis don't happen too often. Mind you, earthquakes are another matter, and logically if there are more earthquakes occuring then the incidence of tsunamis might increase.

S.M Tyler said:

I visualise another wave hitting the East coast of Australia- no more 'coathanger' bridge.

But you are right in saying that in the great scheme of things, tsunamis don't happen too often. Mind you, earthquakes are another matter, and logically if there are more earthquakes occuring then the incidence of tsunamis might increase.

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I keep telling my wife its time to move inland towards sacramento. Another 80 miles north east can make a little difference between a house having some damage and a house that falls down or bursts into flames. Not to mention the local economic disaster.

We lived in San Francisco during the 89 loma prieta quake. It was only 6.9 and was almost 75 miles away from San Francisco. the 1906 quake happened 6 miles outside where the Golden Gate bridge is now. that quake was said to be between 7.8 and 8.3 depending on who you talk to. Although it is said to be a quake that only happens every few centuries, it is said to happen as soon as a 100 years apart and up to 300 years apart.

in 4 months we hit our 100 year Great Earthquake aniversary. so its a ticking time bomb.
I also did a research online. San Andreas is the big fault but Haward, Roger Creek, Green Valley, and 4 other faultlines run in the east Bay near oakland. the roger creek, green valley and haward can produce nearly a 7.5 and are far shallower so they will do more extensive local damage. 2 of those faults are 20-30 years past due.

Between 1850-1880, there were an estimated 3 San Francisco (1906) style quakes (the biggest in 1880) and some dozen 6.0-6.5 quakes and hundreds or thousands of small tremors between 3-4 on the rhicter scale. it was a very active time and happens every other century from ancient recorded history. so this century is supposed to repeat many devestating quakes. Only difference is, maybe 200,000 people lived in this area of California in the late 1800s. now there is like 10 million and alot of roads and very very old buildings.

thats the reality that scares me the most.

I forgot to mention that I was working at the SFO airport during the quake, my wife was downtown. I remember being so scared for my wife and mom. when the bridge collasped< what would have taken only 10 miles to drive across over to oakland took us all the way around the bay (about 50 miles each way) and ended up being 100-110 mile trip. Also, there were tons of panic shoppers. I think only people in Florida know what Im talking about during their hurricane seasons. No bread, no can foods no bottle water, no tap water no gas no electricity.

It really sucked having to break the ice in our old freezer to have something to drink or find something to eat. We finally bailed for the 4 days up north and stayed in a hotel until they allowed trucks in with food.

I remember that quake... I was in Oakley, a stone toss away from Mr Goldfish here, when the quake hit... there were 3 foot waves in my dad's pool and when it was all over half of the water was in the back yard. That night we had to go to Mountain View, closer to the epicenter for a meeting. Half of the hotel was broken. After shocks all night kept me awake. It was a VERY crazy time. I never went into the city (SanFrancisco) durring the aftermath but watched in horror that the 880 pancaked many people.

It's always been said that the big one is comming, and I still believe it. My entire family lives out there and many friends. I'm kind of glad I'm living in Chicagoland where all I have to deal with is icey roads and dodging tornadoes (which scare the hell out of me btw).

If i remember correctly, coot. Chicago had a 5.3 back in the 80s or early 90s. there are fualt lines even up there. thought it may not be able to produce a 7, Earthquakes happen everywhere. The South is over do for another 8.0 quake. I think its called the New Madrid fault line and runs next to the mississippi river.

But yes, I was working at SFO and I was lucky to have been shifted to our "V.I.P" section which was a mobile trailer about a mile from the terminal. When I drove to the terminal, I saw co-workers with broken arms and bloodied clothes, after pipes and ceiling tiles came down on them. I got my foot pinned between two cars while running.

Everyone says never run in a quake. Easier said then done. Your natural instinct is high tail it out. You cant stop your body from reacting. Thats why we have boot camps for military people. To recondition people from doing whats natural to them when panic sets in.

You should have seen my Apartment in San Francisco. There was a massive crack in the wall next to the stairs. You could actually see the outside from it. In some parts the crack of the wall was an inch or 2 wide. and the apartment building kept creeking afterwards. That quake was not considered a massive quake. it was 75 miles away from the bay and very deep and only consider a Moderate quake. The only reason San francisco had problems was from the Marina land fill. And the Oakland Cypress freeway was just poorly built. I remember it being like on a roller coaster everytime we would drive across the lower section. It had huge dips between each pillar.