New System Can Warn of Tsunamis Within Minutes?
Seismologists have developed a new system that could be used to warn future populations of an impending tsunami only minutes after the initial earthquake.
Testing the Limits of Where Humans Can Live
Understanding what made residents stay and how they survived could inform how we adapt to modern vulnerabilities, including climate change.The findings also have implications for how we rebound from contemporary catastrophes, such as the Indonesian tsunami in 2004, hurricanes Katrina and Rita and last year’s earthquake in Haiti.
Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean (GITEWS) has been completed
300 tsunami alert stations were built throughout Indonesia in the past 6 years. But, when the most recent tsunami struck on 25 October, killing 431 people in the Mentawai Islands, questions were raised about its overall efficiency, also showing that any alert system ought to include a widespread education component for coastal population to counteract any sense of false security.
Warning Systems Often Don’t Help Tsunami Victims
There are questions about whether Indonesia’s system was working properly, but even if it was, a tsunami generated by an earthquake so close to shore can reach land long before there’s a chance to raise an effective warning, experts say. Seaside communities need to learn to read natural signs, such as earthquakes and unnaturally receding seas, and immediately move away from the coast.
Root of the Matter: Mangrove as Lives Saver When Natural Disaster Strikes
Countless people clung to life in the branches of mangrove trees hemming the shorelines during the deadly 2004 tsunami that killed more than 230,000 coastal residents in Indonesia, India, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Tsunami Detection Improves, but Coastal Areas Still Vulnerable, Report Finds
Detection and forecast of tsunamis have improved since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but current efforts are still not sufficient to meet challenges posed by tsunamis generated near land.
Predicting Waves of Large Amplitude for Tsunami Warning Systems
Mathematicians provide new insights into tsunamis and effects of underlying currents on surface water waves.
Mega-Earthquake Will Hit Pacific Northwest in Next 50 Years, Scientists Say
That immediacy is why engineering and coastal communities are exploring different ways of evacuating low-lying areas.
Chile Was Prepared for the Quake but Not the Tsunami
Jane Lubchenco says that precisely because the communities were so close to the epicenter, tsunami waves arrived “almost instantaneously.”