Tsunamis

[Matt Foley]

Check out some of the worst tsunamis on record. Amazing facts bolded for your reading pleasure...

8,000 years ago: A volcano caused an avalanche in Sicily 8,000 years ago that crashed into the sea at 200 mph, triggering a devastating tsunami that spread across the entire Mediterranean Sea. There are no historical records of the event - only geological records - but scientists say the tsunami was taller than 10-story building.

Aug. 27, 1883: Eruptions from the Krakatoa volcano fueled a tsunami that drowned 36,000 people in the Indonesian Islands of western Java and southern Sumatra. The strength of the waves pushed coral blocks as large as 600 tons onto the shore.

June 15, 1896: Waves as high as 100 feet (30 meters), spawned by an earthquake, swept the east coast of Japan. Some 27,000 people died.

April 1, 1946: The April Fools tsunami, triggered by an earthquake in Alaska, killed 159 people, mostly in Hawaii.

July 9, 1958: Regarded as the largest recorded in modern times, the tsunami in Lituya Bay, Alaska was caused by a landslide triggered by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. Waves reached a height of 1,720 feet (576 meters) in the bay, but because the area is relatively isolated and in a unique geologic setting the tsunami did not cause much damage elsewhere. It sank a single boat, killing two fishermen.

May 22, 1960: The largest recorded earthquake, magnitude 8.6 in Chile, created a tsunami that hit the Chilean coast within 15 minutes. The surge, up to 75 feet (25 meters) high, killed an estimated 1,500 people in Chile and Hawaii.

March 27, 1964: The Alaskan Good Friday earthquake, magnitude between 8.4, spawned a 201-foot (67-meter) tsunami in the Valdez Inlet. It traveled at over 400 mph, killing more than 120 people. Ten of the deaths occurred in Crescent City, in northern California, which saw waves as high as 20 feet (6.3 meters).

Aug. 23, 1976: A tsunami in the southwest Philippines killed 8,000 on the heels of an earthquake.

July 17, 1998: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake generated a tsunami in Papua New Guinea that quickly killed 2,200.

Dec. 26, 2004: A colossal earthquake with a magnitude between 9.1 and 9.3 shook Indonesia and killed an estimated 230,000 people, most due to the tsunami and the lack of aid afterward, coupled with deviating and unsanitary conditions. The quake was named the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, and the tsunami has become known as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Those waves traveled the globe - as far as Nova Scotia and Peru.

[davos]

downer

[jasonluckydog]

That's hot.

[Jangler]

Can't peeple start spellin' things the way they sound?

[Matt Foley]

I hope the earthquake didn't claim the Celinto Catayente Towers

From "There's Something About Mary"...

Norm: Really? Where would I have seen your work?

Pat Healy: Well, have you been to, uh well, let me see... Santiago, Chile?

Norm: Twice last year. Which building's yours?

Pat Healy: Are you familiar with the soccer stadium?

Norm: Did you build the Estadio Olimpico?

Pat Healy: No, just down the street the Celinto Catayente Towers. It's quite a fine example, in fact. I recommend that next time you're up that way that you drop in and take a gander at it yourself.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

Why have we not used the Earth as a weapon yet? Surely we could impact a large enough area with such force as to replicate an avalanche, thus sending a tsunami toward our enemy's coast.

[mmmbeans]

Why have we not used the Earth as a weapon yet? Surely we could impact a large enough area with such force as to replicate an avalanche, thus sending a tsunami toward our enemy's coast.

slower than a missile.

[Matt Foley]

Why have we not used the Earth as a weapon yet? Surely we could impact a large enough area with such force as to replicate an avalanche, thus sending a tsunami toward our enemy's coast.

The 2004 tsunami started in Indonesia and went as far as Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is pretty much the opposite side of the world and protected by Africa and Europe on one side and the Americas on the other.

[Davidson Deac II]

Why have we not used the Earth as a weapon yet? Surely we could impact a large enough area with such force as to replicate an avalanche, thus sending a tsunami toward our enemy's coast.

I remember reading a scenario in which the Soviets sank a merchant ship off the west coast of the US that contained a few nukes. They went off a few weeks later, creating a Tsunami that wiped out much of the West Coast.

[Jangler]

Hugo Chavez says we have an Earthquake weapon. The Chile earthquake was just a warning to his balls.

[Matt Foley]

I remember reading a scenario in which the Soviets sank a merchant ship off the west coast of the US that contained a few nukes. They went off a few weeks later, creating a Tsunami that wiped out much of the West Coast.

We had a rogue wave in Daytona one summer when President Bush Sr was visiting the track for the summer race. My dad said fishermen swore it was one of our nuclear subs that got caught in something and hit full throttle to get loose not too far offshore. The wave was like 10 feet high and did a lot of damage.

[Delhommey]

Can't peeple start spellin' things the way they sound?

Some words are spelled the way they're pronounced, like tsunami. Others are not.

[Davidson Deac II]

We had a rogue wave in Daytona one summer when President Bush Sr was visiting the track for the summer race. My dad said fishermen swore it was one of our nuclear subs that got caught in something and hit full throttle to get loose not too far offshore. The wave was like 10 feet high and did a lot of damage.

Actually, that was Jimmy Spencer jumping in the Ocean.

[Scrumtrilescent]

Probably thought a shark bumped him when he was swimming.