Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami, 1964

The 1964 Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake and the resulting tsunami struck without warning on Good Friday, March 27.

It was a quiet spring day in Anchorage, a holiday. Temperatures were seasonably mild with a moderate amount of snow on the ground. Children had the day off from school, and customer traffic in the stores downtown was light. Many residents were preparing or enjoying dinner at home. At 5:36 p.m. a major earthquake began to shake the ground, and the earth beneath Southcentral Alaska moved in waves for the next four long minutes.

Parents and children slipped, stumbled and fell on shifting floors in a panicked effort to get outdoors to escape breaking windows. Two inch cracks appeared in the ground in many places. Roads wrinkled and split and Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage broke apart and collapsed 10 feet or more. The Government Hill Elementary School twisted, shifted and became unusable in a moment. The outside wall of the J.C. Penney building crashed to the street. In the Turnagain residential district the ground liquefied like quicksand, slid away, and swallowed up 75 or more homes.

The four minute earthquake released the energy roughly equivalent to 10 million times the force of an atomic bomb. The mass of the earth and ocean absorbed most of the force, but manmade structures in the area could not absorb the rest of the force without suffering massive damage. Total property damage was estimated at $500 million.

Anchorage was crippled as gas lines and water lines were severed abruptly. Residents resorted to melting snow for water while awaiting repairs. Four days later students returned to available schools as life in Anchorage began to recover.

The Earthquake

The center of the Alaska earthquake was located about 75 miles east of Anchorage and about 55 miles west of Valdez. It began 14 to 16 miles deep in the earth's crust, a comparatively shallow depth, where the Pacific plate dives beneath the North American plate. The huge subduction zone is located at the north end of the Ring of Fire, a semicircle of volcanic and earthquake activity that defines the rim of the Pacific Ocean.

The earthquake fault, more precisely the thrust fault, which was the cause of the Good Friday earthquake stretched 750 miles from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Valdez. The Pacific plate that day moved an estimated 25 to 30 feet northward, diving beneath the North American plate. The grinding of the two massive tectonic plates caused the Alaska earthquake and measured 8.4 on the Richter scale. In later years the measurement of the Alaska earthquake was upgraded to 9.2 on the Mw, or moment magnitude, scale as the Richter scale was determined to be inaccurate at measuring very large earthquakes above 8.0. Within a day of the initial major earthquake 11 more tremors of 6.0 or greater shook an already nervous population. In fact, aftershocks continued for nearly a year.

The earthquake caused the ground to displace upward by as much as 25 feet on several Alaskan islands and by nearly 3 feet upward at the city of Valdez. In other areas the ground displaced downward as much as 9 feet, for example in the town of Portage.

The Alaska earthquake on Good Friday was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America. It was the second strongest ever recorded worldwide, surpassed in strength by the 9.5 Mw earthquake in Chile on May 22, 1960. The recent December 26, 2004, earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra measured 9.0 Mw. The deadliest earthquake occurred in Shensi Province, China, in 1556 where over 830,000 residents perished.

The Tsunami

Tsunami is an adapted Japanese word meaning "port wave," a reference to the fact that the wave's danger and destructive power only become evident as it approaches the shore.

During the 1964 Alaska earthquake the North American plate released upward, displacing a huge volume of ocean water and causing a seismic wave, a tsunami, to travel outward. The wave traveled at an estimated 450 miles per hour in the deeper ocean in a long wave of almost imperceptible height.

As the tsunami wave passed over the continental shelf and approached shore its length shortened, its speed decreased and its height increased as the massive volume and weight of water prepared to release its incredible energy on anything in its path.

At the shallow Valdez Inlet the wave reached a maximum height of nearly 200 feet. Further on, at the old town of Valdez, a 30 foot wall of water struck and demolished all structures. Twenty eight Valdez residents died when the tsunami crashed ashore. Valdez was later rebuilt at a higher elevation and further from the waterfront.

In Seward, Alaska, the earthquake caused a portion of the bay to slide. The slide caused a local tsunami which devastated Seward's port and downtown district, both of which were eventually rebuilt. Twelve residents perished in Seward.

The small town of Portage was leveled by its own local tsunami and never relocated or rebuilt. Another local tsunami struck the small port of Whittier killing 12 residents.

The Destruction

The original tsunami traveled about 8400 miles. It caused damage in the Hawaiian Islands and along the Oregon and California coasts. A 20 foot wave struck Crescent City, California, and killed 10 residents. The tsunami was responsible for the deaths of 16 people in Oregon and California.

The tsunami killed a total of 122 people in three states. By comparison, the earthquake resulted in 9 deaths.

It has been more than 40 years since the Alaska earthquake and tsunami. In the meantime construction materials and building practices have been enforced to produce structures more capable of surviving strong earthquakes. Also in the meantime, the population in Alaska's vulnerable areas has increased tremendously.

Smaller earthquakes along Alaska's subduction zone and other fault zones occur on a daily basis, presumably relieving the internal pressures that would otherwise produce another massive earthquake.

However, nobody knows with certainty when, where, or whether another huge and destructive earthquake will strike Alaska.

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Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He writes articles about real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of http://www.Anchorage-Homes.com and http://www.TheDatingAdvisor.com.

Tsunami Defined

Tsunami is a Japanese term that describes a large seismically generated sea wave which is capable of considerable destruction in certain coastal areas, especially where underwater earthquakes occur.

In Japanese, "Tsunami" means "Harbor Wave" or "Wave In The Harbor" It is now internationally accepted as the term that defines a "Seismic Seawave."

In South America, the term "Maremoto" is frequently used to describe a Tsunami.

Tsunami is pronounced: (sue-NAM-ee)

Tsunami's have been incorrectly referred to as "tidal waves." A tidal wave is a non-technical term for a shallow water wave caused by the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth (high water is the crest of a tidal wave and low water is the trough).

Tsunami's are formed by a displacement of water. This can come from the slippage of the boundaries between two tectonic plates, volcanic eruption, under-water earthquake, or even landslides.

Out in the open ocean, Tsunami's might only be 1 meter in height, but as it reaches the shore in shallow water, it can rise to heights of 15-30 meters or more. Think about how a normal wave comes into a shore: the water moves away from the shore and then comes crashing back. This movement "heightens" the destruction power of a Tsunami.

Tsunami's can also reach speeds ranging from 400 to 500+ miles per hour... about the same speed as a jet airliner.

The enormous energy that a Tsunami can possess allows it to travel across entire oceans. They often proceed as an ordinary gravity wave... having a 15 to 60 minute intervals.

From a destruction perspective, Tsunami's have cost not hundreds of thousands, but millions of human lives over the recorded history of Earth.

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey & Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

Resource Box:

Joe Upsurge is a freelance writer and author with a personal interest in Tsunamis and other seismic wave research.

TSUNAMI The Next Big Wave:The Grandaddy of Them All

A few days ago on Melbourne's 60 Minutes, renowned scientist Dr Kerry Sieh predicted the guaranteed next big wave or giant Tsunami will definitely happen, and it will be the Grandaddy of them all.

Indonesia gets the full force this time around ... When?... whether it be in a few months, or in a decade is all Dr Sieh cannot accurately predict at this present moment.

Kerry Sieh, a Geology professor at the California Institute of Technology, knows Indonesia's earthquake zone like the back of his hand ... and he did in fact predict the first earthquake that hit parts of Indonesia on Boxing Day. Now he predicts another Tsunami will hit, and this will be the grandaddy of them all!

From Melbourne MSN Channel 9's Sixty Minutes Richard Carleton explains why the earthquakes and ensuing Tsunami's occur:

RICHARD CARLETON: Dr Sieh's focus is on the faultline, 5000km long, where moving plates of the earth's crust grind against each other. The plate under the Indian Ocean slides beneath Indonesia, much like the disappearing stairs on an escalator. But some sections get stuck and then later snap upwards, releasing gargantuan force.

DR KERRY SIEH: The plates get hung up and they can't slip past each other, so the upper plate gets dragged down as this plate sinks and with it, the islands get dragged down, slowly but surely, and when the earthquake happens, they pop back up and out.

RICHARD CARLETON: And that's what happened last Boxing Day. The quake jolted the mainland so violently that people were thrown to the ground.

What a pointless waste of life! ... Dr Sieh warned the governments concerned ahead of time, he even went down personally and alerted inhabitants of the affected villages in Indonesia to protect themselves against the Tsunami he just knew would happen ... but nobody paid any attention to him ... now when he walks into these same villages, he is welcomed and treated as a hero !

From his 14 satellite research station, high in the mountain tops of the humid Indonesian jungle, Dr Sieh now predicts the next Tsunami will hit:

.. and the precise location .... right opposite the city of Padang in Indonesia ... inhabitants: 1 million people!

Repeat: All he cannot pinpoint is when ... this disaster could be in months, the next decade or in a hundred years!

The city of Padang is base for Australian surfers who go there to surf the waves of the Menwawais ... where some of the best surfing breaks in the world may be found .. as an Australian citizen this is startling news.

Geographically, the city of Padang would have difficulty dealing with a high tide, the devastation caused by the grandaddy of Tsunamis is incomprehensible.

Imagine a mere 15 minute warning before the earthquake ..

... and then the waters of the giant Tsunami gushing down the streets of Padang, just like it did in Banda Acheh washing everything away in its stride ..

... a moving torrent of cars, oil, broken trees and precious human life!

My call to all my fellow Marketers, the Search Engine Optimization community, Retail colleagues and anyone who reads this post: do everything in your power to reach your readers in Indonesia, particularly the city of Padang, they need to take heed and make adequate provision, to stop the pointless human slaughter this time around.

Whether this be in the form of lobbying your local Government bodies, or through local press release, we must help this time, before the devastation of this giant wave; the grandaddy of Tsunami's takes away more precious human life.

But above all do this in a responsible manner .. causing wide spread panic amongst unworldly village inhabitants or your worldwide audience will not help at all.

Melbourne's 60 Minutes at MSN Channel 9 has the whole story including a video of the interview available at their site . The video version is half-way down the page. Due to the ever changing nature of News, I cannot guarantee how long this link will be up.

Whilst this news is hardly topical for an internet marketing and search engine optimization Blog, as a parent the irreversible damage to our environment has me greatly concerned ... please do whatever you can to stop this alarming trend.

Entire article available at:

Marketing Defined on the next big Tsunami

Copyright 2005 Marketing Defined. All Rights Reserved.

This article may be reproduced in its entirety, with no alterations. The resource boxes, live URL's and Author Bio must be included.

Roseanne van Langenberg is a Marketing Consultant and Publisher from Melbourne, Australia. Roseanne shares her findings on legitimate back-door search engine optimization and internet marketing techniques, for online blogs, which earned her a No. 1 ranking at the new MSN search engine, at the Marketing Defined seo and internet marketing Blog.

How Do Tsunamis Form?

Tsunamis in scientific terms are also called as seismic sea waves. The reason of their occurrence is the sudden change in the surface of sea which is usually earthquakes and large landslides. Tsunamis are not "tidal waves" but people disregard them as that. In reality they are not caused due to tidal actions. Every earthquake cannot create Tsunami. In order to create it, it must be under or near the ocean, must be very huge and able to create vertical movements. Almost every oceanic regions present in the world are prone to Tsunamis but Pacific Ocean is much more vulnerable to such earthquakes and thereby, Tsunamis. They are not very powerful deep inside the ocean since they carry small amplitudes and speed of around 800 kms per hour but it dissipates its energy after reaching the outer ocean. In fact the ocean becomes a 'pond' to Tsunamis. Moreover, there are numerous waves to accumulate into it.

Tsunamis are very energetic, powerful and enormous amount of energy can spread onto a large volume of water deep within sea. When they reach coastline or shallow water their energy concentrates into smaller volume. Its speed tends to decrease but the amplitude heightens up to a dangerous level which can be 50 feet or even more than that covering the entire island.

Tsunamis are formed after occurrence of earthquakes, landslides or volcanic eruptions under the sea floor. When such movements are happened under the deep sea, huge amount of energy releases as a consequence of quick upward and bottom movements. For example after occurrence of volcanic eruptions the oceanic floor very quickly moves upward several hundred feet. When such thing happens, huge amount of ocean water gets pushed upwards resulting into formation of a wave. Similarly a huge earthquake can lift several thousands of square kilometers of sea surface which further results into formation of huge waves. In fact The Pacific Ocean is the oceanic region which is very much prone to such Tsunamis. The reason behind this is also the numerous amounts of geological activities undertaken by it.

In the open ocean Tsunamis may appear to be very small and that's why they get unnoticed until they reach shallow waters or the coastline. Waves occurring after such movements carry large wavelengths. As a result these wavelengths can take gigantic and dangerous forms thereby resulting into Tsunamis. There is no wonder that such Tsunamis can cause massive destruction around the coastal life and huge amount of loss of life.

Author recommends Tech-FAQ for more information on topics such as How Do Tsunamis Form and How Ocean Currents Affect Climate. You may visit for more details.

German Memory in Asia - A Visit to Tsunami-Hit Coastal Areas of Indian Ocean

I had a fine view of the mangroves in the both directions of the passage, recalling memories of the good old days in Mullaitivu.

When we reached the tsunami-hit bridge, we stopped over it and had a close view of the devastated bridge and the surrounding area. In the vicinity we could see that LTTE cadres were reconstructing the bridge and excavating the debris under it to enable an uninterrupted water-flow over the narrow canal which links the Indian Ocean and the interior Lake. I approached them and inquired about the tsunami devastation and its effects. They narrated the terrific moments and how they managed to escape at the time of the tsunami tidal waves by jumping onto the upper-side of the area.

I was horrified when they told how all the passengers and the vehicles passing by were washed away by the mighty tidal waves as though they were driftwood. The tidal waves had not only devastated human lives but also deprived the survivors of all hope and the meaning for existing. The tsunami waves have given a lasting message to the human race that worldly life is highly illusive and natural forces could triumph over their planning and execution. It had washed away everything in seconds.

We had conquered the outer space and successfully landed on the moon but were still struggling to cope with our own world's natural calamities. We had failed in controlling nature's furies. Technological advancement and other scientific inventions have been of no avail. The tsunami had smitten our conscience and posed the question as to why we bothered so much about the outer space wonders than finding solutions to our own world's disorders.

While my thoughts turned back to the tsunami-hit bridge and the surroundings, I focused my attention on the path we traveled by. I noticed our six-vehicle convoy was on its way towards us. The waving banners in front of the vehicles identified that those were our vehicles.

Suddenly I was terrified thinking of those fateful moments on the bridge and what would have happened to me. Oh! I just couldn't imagine it. Those horrific moments were again and again assailing me. The convoy had approached the bridge and stopped near us. Some of the German Praktikum (Internship) students got down from their vehicles.

The scenic beauty of the narrow lagoon and the surrounding Palmyra trees everywhere cast a fascination over all, despite having depressed moments. But I had mixed feelings of whether to enjoy the tropical beauty or mourn for those who were washed away there a few days ago.

In a few minutes most of the students who came with us in the convoy, even the girl intern students got down from the vehicles. The German television crew was busy in documenting the lagoon and the surrounding devastation, which they could telecast over satellite transmission throughout Germany.

The BBC correspondent with whom I traveled requested me to join him. But I decided to accompany the convoy and thanked him for his request. I joined the German team once again. I could see in their faces a difference. They too might have realized the illusiveness of this worldly life after having seen the devastation. A nauseating stench emanating from decomposed human bodies assailed our noses from the bridge area and all the way thereafter for some time.

We had passed the devastated Mullaitivu town, which was now beyond recognition. Then we returned back and reached the demolished town. When we approached the heart of the Mullaitivu town, we could see the havoc wreaked had completely destroyed the buildings. It was difficult to reconcile that there was a town there earlier.

The Sea Tiger unit of the LTTE cadres at the Junction stopped us. They inquired about our mission, as that was the first time that the AGSEP had come into the heart of the LTTE stronghold in Mullaitivu. I explained to the LTTE officials and they allowed us to proceed to the tsunami-devastated areas. They sent with us a member of the Sea Tiger unit to guide us.

Our vehicles were passing the sandy passage very slowly, following the LTTE cadre who was riding a motorbike. We stopped our vehicles near the beach after passing massive debris of tsunami devastation everywhere in the vicinity. We could hardly see a building, which had withstood the tidal waves. We all stepped down from our vehicles and spoke to the LTTE member who was assisting us about the severity of the devastation.

He told us they were still excavating the dead bodies from a nearby pond, which was once a tiny rainwater reservoir and now turned into a saltwater pond. The tsunami had smitten once again our conscience and posed the question as to why we bothered so much about the outer space wonders than finding solutions to our own world's disorders.

Rajkumar Kanagasingam is the author of the fascinating book - German Memories in Asia......A collection of memories by the author in his discussion with German university students who have been volunteering in Asia on the sensitive issues of Early Human Migration, Asian & European historical events especially the German since the Roman Empire era to the times of First & Second World Wars and about the Germans around the world and their Migrations, Life styles, Encounters and Assimilations since the ancient times, his experiences in an American NGO as an officer in the rebel-held war-torn jungles and then in a tsunami relief mission there with German students, and the German students' life and fashion in Asia....

The book could be ordered at over 30,000 retail outlets world wide & is listed on Amazon.com & more...

More about the book: [http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~41609.aspx]

Some Facts About Tsunamis

We have all recently been under immense shock on what has happened in some of the regions of Asia last December 26, 2004, just a day after a joyous Christmas Celebration on the paradise-like place of Phuket and on the island of Sri Lanka. It was a great tragedy with the toll of dead people reaching about 135,000 now and left many of people injured, homeless and struggling to survive.

Here are some of the facts that you may want to know about Tsunamis:

- Before the first wave of the tsunami hits, the shoreline recedes tremendously and it may even expose the sea or ocean floor and leave a bounty of fishes dry. If you happen to see this, never let your curiosity get the better of you and immediately run to higher ground.

- A tsunami can be a series of waves and mostly the first wave is the less intense of all.

- Tsunamis only affect shallow waters or coastal areas. When tsunamis hit the deep areas of water, it just comes off as an average big ocean wave. The Physics of tsunamis indicate that as it travels into shallow water, its height increases even reaching up to a hundred meters (100 m) in height in extreme cases.

- Earthquakes are not the only causes of Tsunami, Tsunamis can also be generated from meteorites falling on a large body of water, a volcanic eruption, landslide or from any occurence that displaces a large amount of water.

- Animals domestic or wild can almost detect approaching tsunamis. As observed from the Tsunami that hit last Dec. 26, 2004, the statistics of animals that were affected by the Tsunami were very very small and even negligible compared to the human casualties. Scientist and animal experts attribute this to the keen, attuned and senstitive senses of animals as compared to humans.

- Tsunamis can also be earlier detected with a Tsunameter, a device that can detect an approaching Tidal Wave. Unfortunately, only a few countries could afford this device. Sri Lanka has considered of aqcuiring one but that project was not pushed through.

These are just a few facts that you may want to know about Tsunamis. Tsunamis are deadly and may cause destruction of lives, properties, and even an entire place. The best weapon against this kind of unprecedented and unstoppable occurence is a well educated and well informed public so that even if properties may get washed away, lives may still be saved.

Gina Marie Capatar is the head writer of Isnare Outsourcing Services [http://outsourcing.isnare.com] and of Isnare.com - a free articles directory.

She is a technical writer by profession and also does freelance writing jobs for website content. She has done hundreds of Content writing for a variety of websites.

Effects of the Asia Tsunami on Tourism

A tsunami struck out of nowhere going down in history as the most devastating earthquake killing over two hundred thousand people. The coasts of South East Asia had been building popularity with Europeans when this occurred, understandably so tourism dwindled down after this, but not for long.

Some of the more popular vacation spots that were affected the most were Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand, and Indonesia. After the tsunami struck most locations started planning ideas or events to bring tourism back. They knew the travel industry would be affected and wanted to make sure it did not last long.

Sri Lanka one of the hardest hit places came up with an idea they called "Io Vado A Sri Lanka". What they did was get a group together of more than two hundred and seventy people consisting of the Italian media, tour operators and retailers and they toured the island. They visited all their interesting sites on the island.

The idea was that the Italian media would share their experience on the island and would be encouraging people to come visit at the same time. When the tsunami struck South East Asia the tourism industry lost billions of dollars. Immediately after the tsunami the government was encouraging vacationers to stay away from the areas affected.

Fortunately the travel industry was not going to stand for this. They have been working hard since the Tsunami to regain their visitors. Shortly after the Tsunami the Association of Southeast Asian Nations intensified their marketing to gain tourists again. They began to encourage the government to help them assure travelers that this tsunami was an isolated event, something that just does not happen. There was one good thing that came out of this tragedy. With all the media coverage on the tsunami more people became aware of these ideal vacation destinations.

One other thing the travel industry has been doing and will continue doing is giving advisory updates. They are informing the necessary sources of the conditions and improvements of these destinations and encouraging people to visit. By giving updates this will help get tourism back to 100% on the beautiful coasts of South East Asia.

Fortunately for everyone tourists have begun to realize that a tsunami of this magnitude is rare, something that happens once maybe every hundred years and they are not letting it scare them away from enjoying a piece of paradise.

Darren Cronian, is blogger of UK travel blog called Travel Rants where you will find more useful guides and posts dealing with travel consumer issues.

Tsunami Preparation

Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning "harbor wave". It is unlike a tidal wave, in that it can start after an earthquake, building momentum under the water as it moved inland, so that a boat out on the water may continue on without occupants realizing the force moving under it towards the shore. It can also be caused by volcano eruptions and landslides.

The people on the coast would be quickly experiencing the effects once the tsunami reaches land. A tsunami is many waves coming in, moving in several hundreds of kilometers or miles per hour under the surface of the ocean. When they reach shallow water they break into very powerful and sometimes gigantic waves, which can occur over a series of hours. You may think the worst is over, when really it is yet to come. This is why leaving the coastal area for inland and higher ground is crucial and going to the shore to keep an eye out could be a mortal decision. You should seek ground 15 meters or 100 feet higher than sea level. The most dangerous of areas is the land one mile within the shore and less then 25 feet above sea level.

 

When an earthquake in December 2004 resulted in a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the waves that came onto the coastal land were up to 60 feet in some areas. Eleven countries by the Indian Ocean were hit, but the impact of the tsunami was felt around various parts of the world, even as far as Peru. Over 200,000 people lost their lives.

 

Countries and coastal areas have their own set of emergency notification responses from tsunami warnings. They can range from warnings and watches to letting the public know all is clear and the tsunami advisory is now cancelled. Sirens or telephone relays, broadcasts over radio and television are all ways different communities handle tsunami warnings.

 

If you are on a boat when the tsunami warning comes in, plan to leave the inland area of the harbor and head out towards deeper water. If there has been a strong earthquake in the area you are in, it is safer to travel by foot unless you are disabled, as roads could be damaged, trees and bridges could have collapsed, etc.

 

If you have time, take your hopefully prepared emergency survival kit with enough supplies for at least 3 days. Return home or to your original location only when the tsunami warning has been lifted and people have been advised they can return to the coastal area.

Does the daily news make you wonder if you are covering your bases in being prepared for various emergency situations, not only to ensure safety measures for yourself but also your loved ones and pets? If this is one of those topics you put on the back burner, take some time to slot it into your schedule - getting prepared. You'll feel better knowing you are taking precautions and having resources at your disposal. Great peace of mind! For informative information at your fingertips, visit www.emergencydisasterplan.net

Danger in the Pacific - The Samoa Tsunami

With the help of my colleague, Alex Molina, I recently wrote about the realistic danger that tsunamis posed to the west coast of the United States.

I had vastly underestimated the damage a tsunami can do, and the last two days, after reading about the 8.3 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that followed, I also got to watch the Pacific Ocean's tsunami warning system in action.

In the case of Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga, the earthquake's epicenter and aftershocks were in some cases less than 100 miles from the coastlines. This meant that the early warning system had little time to warn anyone. At this time, over 111 people are reported missing or dead from the three Pacific territories, and that count is expected to be considerably higher once emergency personnel make it to hard to access, outlying areas. In some cases, the waves came as far as a mile inland.

From reports from the wire services and people I've talked to in American Samoa, the only immediate warning for the tsunami most people received were the cell phone calls made by forward-thinking family. Common sense dictated that if an earthquake was both near enough and powerful enough to damage buildings, a tsunami was on its way. While many villages were literally swept completely into the Pacific Ocean, most people managed to get to high ground and escaped with their lives.

In the future, these three areas, particularly American Samoa, since it is under jurisdiction of FEMA and the US Government, will have to improve their Tsunami warning system up to the high standard set by the state of Oregon, which includes blue sirens all along the coast, and regularly scheduled tsunami drills in all the public schools.

Now for the good news

Otherwise, the new system in the Pacific seems to be working well. In all fairness, the tsunami that hit American Samoa was practically a point-blank shot and we did not have the benefit of the buoys to warn us of what was coming. Once the tsunami had time to move out and start hitting buoys, however, we had a clear picture of when the waves would hit Hawaii, Japan, the west coast of the United States, and other Pacific area at risk.

Warnings were made well in advance, and ships were able to seek deeper, safer waters, tsunami watches and warnings went into effect, and quickly out of effect, once the NOAA knew the waves had lost considerable power and size and represented little threat.

Even in far away, Venice Beach, California, lifeguards advised people to get out of the water in advance of the waves, and the tsunami showed up right on time. Apparently there wasn't much punch left, but I'm sure the state of California is relieved. Still, the unfortunate and low lying town of Crescent City, California was battered by a 1.5 foot peak over normal tides - a size comparable to the largest waves to hit Hawaii after the quake. State officials, knowing the town's vulnerability to tsunamis, were able to take the right precautions, however, and other than a scare to the local fish, no one was harmed and no property damage was reported.

Putting this into perspective

As we speak, a much deadlier weather event has left over 300 dead and thousands homeless, as Typhoon Ketsana has slammed into the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. As much as 80% of Manila is underwater. A second quake hit Indonesia today, a 7.6 magnitude quake, scaring everyone up into the hills. Considering it was an 8.0 quake in the same area that prompted the 2004 Tsunami of infamy, I can't say they overreacted. If I felt a strong earthquake on any coastline, I would hightail it at least a mile into the hills as well.

The tsunami that resulted from it was less that a foot, smaller than what hit Hawaii or Crescent City, California from the Samoa earthquake. Officials were able to call off the warnings and people soon returned to their normal lives.

In the world of extreme weather events, we can only still guess at exactly what a hurricane will do or where it will go. This is true of many weather events, be they floods, tornadoes, even a wildfire. Earthquakes are the worst of all, and give no warning, but unless you are close to the epicenter, tsunamis are at least predictable in the Pacific, thanks to the work of the US and Japanese governments.

At this point in time, we have the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, headquartered in Hawaii, that watches all the tidal buoys in the Pacific Ocean at all times and gives us a very clear picture of what is going on out there. While they can't do much to warn of a tsunami when it first starts it's trek from the ocean floor, they certainly can track it within a few minutes of when it will land.

My heart goes out to the victims of Typhoon Ketsana and the recent Samoan tsunami, but I'm relieved that our relatively new typhoon tracking system has seen it's first real test.

Many scientists agree that at some point in the 21st century, we will see a quake and tsunami on the scale of the Cascadian Tsunami from 300 years ago. Without a working warning system in place, the results could be far worse than the Indonesian Tsunami of 2004.

Now that our tidal warning system has seen a full dress rehearsal, I feel much better about being prepared if the big one does indeed come.

For those who are interested, you can read my writeup from last week, Tsunamis in America: Can They Happen Here? Part 1.

Ryan W. Campbell is an assistant editor for the newly launched Pameno.com. You can read more of his work there.

Ryan is from the Texas Gulf Coast and is a 16 year veteran of the United States Navy. He's a fan of motorcycles, extreme weather, camping, and fishing.

What To Do When Tsunami Attacks?

Year 2004 was an unforgettable year for Southeast Asian citizens. A very powerful tidal wave hit certain areas that resulted from destruction and left awful scenarios for the casualties. Over 200,000 people died in just a moment and unfortunately some bodies were never recovered and identified.

This is just one of the many recorded tsunami attacks from recent years and even centuries. It happened not just in the vicinities of the Pacific, but also in Indian and Atlantic Ocean, which brought up many into worry.

Way back 1600 B.C., until the recent happening in the island of Indonesia where more than 600 people were killed, tsunami has just brought up many people's lives into pain and suffering.

When an underground earthquake caused by plate collisions occurs in a certain area, a warning will be sent out to coastal teams as the possibilities of having tsunami is big. Warnings are sent out to any local authorities to inform civilians.

Tsunami attacks cannot be predicted up to what specific place. But since the Pacific area is known as the world's rim of fire, there is a bigger chance that tsunami can strike next to countries around it, which makes these countries conduct several preparations in case such awful disaster happens.

The main problem associated with some countries that suffered much is that they don't plan ahead of time. Tsunami can be unpredictable sometimes but the fact that these countries are near to coastal areas and places, which are prone to big tidal waves, should be a hint for them to prepare.

There should be a system that will effectively warn everybody to prepare for the coming tsunami. This alert system, which composes of information, watch, advisory, and warning, should be implemented.

Once an underground earthquake is detected, a firm called Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii will send out information to the countries along the area.

Although the specific place of impact is not yet clearly identified, they will still send out advisory to the possible regions that might be attacked by the tsunami.

It may take hours for the effects of the underground earthquake to happen but this signals everyone that there's a possibility for a tsunami to attack. With this, people along the coastal areas must watch over the water movement.

If something unusual is seen and there is water withdraw, then an immediate evacuation should take place.

One signal to inform everyone of the evacuation is via siren. The siren will start to sound at interval times three hours to half an hour before tsunami impacts.

By this time, everyone should begin packing and evacuating. One safe place is to go to higher grounds far from the danger zone. There should be emergency kits along with you once you packed out.

These include: food, water and clothing. Radio, as well, is important for you to know if it is safe already to go down.

People should watch out for further news about tsunami. If nothing happened, it is always safe to take consultation to the authorities and make sure that it is already safe to go back.

Coordination is one important thing that everyone, especially those near to tsunami-prone regions, should have. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Devastated structures and properties can still be replaced but a life cannot be returned.

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Safety Tips When Tsunami Strikes

Tsunami has become one of the most devastating calamities this nature has. The recent record of an awful attack hits Asia and citizens living in the area have become aware of the possible danger tsunami can give.

Tsunami is the product of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other tectonic displacements on the seafloor. Tsunami will develop if earthquakes reached an intensity of 6.5 magnitudes or more. Its wave speed average is 300 mph that will last from five minutes to one hour.

People living in coastal areas are at risk of the tsunami attack. Places next to the Pacific's Rim of fire and some other countries like Hawaii, Alaska, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are some tsunami-prone spots.

Tsunami is one destructive force that can destroy everything and it has enough power to kill human lives in just a second. To avoid this from happening, people and travelers in coastal areas should have an urgent response regarding the said calamity.

Local government must have strategic plans ahead of the possible tsunami attack to avoid higher number of casualties.

Tsunami can be detected if earthquake is felt. This will alarm the coastal teams to send out advisories to the countries near the area. There may be no specific target place but an emergency preparation must be considered.

People in the coastline must observe carefully the water movement. If there's water withdraw then an immediate evacuation must be done.

Run to a safe place as much as you can and get updated by your local radio station or television for further advisories. An advice will be released massively and this will let you know when to act safely.

For families, it is important to have a meeting place safe and far from the shore. Each of them must be informed about what to do in a tsunami situation.

For family members with special needs like infants, elderly people and relatives with disabilities, an early response should be done. Bringing necessary things such as ID, medicine, food and water supply, few clothing and batteries is barely important as well.

Consider life as the first priority in your list. Never attempt to bring along with you heavy equipment in your house once you evacuate as this can cause you to evacuate slowly. You should not have the disappointment of loosing your things.

Though it might upset you but at least you have save life, which is more valuable than any material things.

If you're trap in an incoming wave, the best way to do is to go to the highest place of the nearest structure like rooftop of your house or tree. Hold on tight to anything that is strong enough to brace you and never let go.

Tsunami may seem disastrous but can be avoided if you will consider emergency preparations. Just always seek advices and updates from the government and local teams to get you updated about the tsunami's condition.

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