Pacific Tsunami - M8.8

[Icantwhisper]

Ever since 2004 when people hear earthquake they think there will be a similar Tsunami.
While it's okay to be cautious, the 2004 quake was a thrust quake where the ocean floor rose 50 feet. Most quakes slip horizontally with minimal vertical impact and result in very little damage outside of the area they occur

[Fuzz]

2011 (Fuikishima) was also a thrust quake. I assume given the location of this it would be one too, but haven't looked. I think caution was warranted here.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Icantwhisper

Ever since 2004 when people hear earthquake they think there will be a similar Tsunami.
While it's okay to be cautious, the 2004 quake was a thrust quake where the ocean floor rose 50 feet. Most quakes slip horizontally with minimal vertical impact and result in very little damage outside of the area they occur

I don’t think people thought there would be a tsunami because there was an earthquake, I think they thought that because the organizations charged with monitoring that activity said there might be activity like that.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

2011 (Fuikishima) was also a thrust quake. I assume given the location of this it would be one too, but haven't looked. I think caution was warranted here.

According to the internet it was a thrust in a subduction zone, which is basically the exact kind of earthquake that generates a tsunami.

[DownInFlames]

I’m glad there there wasn’t a dangerous tsunami yesterday, but now I have to rewatch a bunch of 2011 videos to get rid of this tragedy boner.

[WideReceiver]

Friends are surfing on Vancouver Island. I assume they’re okay; I imagine catching a tsunami wave.

[Flashpoint]

The media disappointment is palpable.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

The media disappointment is palpable.

Yeah, Victoria and Vancouver thought they were going to get a free street-cleaning.

[FlamesAddiction]

It seems that there is still a lot of unpredictability about tsunamis. The exact circumstances to produce the really big tsunamis just can't be known to have occurred until you have time to do a deeper assessment of the data or you see if one is actually produced. The time it takes to do that assessment could make a huge difference for protecting human lives, so better to err on the side of caution. When a big earthquake like that happens, you just kind of have to assume a possible worst case scenario until you can prove otherwise.

As a side note, it kind of breaks my brain that tsunami waves can travel at the same rate as a commercial airliner.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It seems that there is still a lot of unpredictability about tsunamis. The exact circumstances to produce the really big tsunamis just can't be known to have occurred until you have time to do a deeper assessment of the data or you see if one is actually produced. The time it takes to do that assessment could make a huge difference for protecting human lives, so better to err on the side of caution. When a big earthquake like that happens, you just kind of have to assume a possible worst case scenario until you can prove otherwise.

As a side note, it kind of breaks my brain that tsunami waves can travel at the same rate as a commercial airliner.

I always knew those shiftless ne'er-do-wells were sandbaggin' it!!

[Fuzz]

Earthquakes generate a lot of data fairly quickly, and I suspect eventually we'll be able to spot seismic fingerprints of the types that do generate tsunamis to be able to have more accurate warnings. For now we have to deal with this cautious warning approach, but in the future I suspect they'll be able to fairly confidently say "low risk of tsunami" in a short period after the quake.


It'll be interesting to see where the follow up quakes happen, there are usually some related ones that show up far from the source in the following days.

[PepsiFree]

I think it’s also that laypeople like myself think tsunami and think mass destruction, same as a tornado.

But a tsunami with a 1 foot wave is still a tsunami just as much as one with a 160 foot wave. Just as an F0 tornado is still a tornado just the same as an F5.

So just because there is a warning doesn’t mean mass destruction, I guess.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I think it’s also that laypeople like myself think tsunami and think mass destruction, same as a tornado.

But a tsunami with a 1 foot wave is still a tsunami just as much as one with a 160 foot wave. Just as an F0 tornado is still a tornado just the same as an F5.

So just because there is a warning doesn’t mean mass destruction, I guess.

It’s also much less of a “wave” how we consider them, and more like “this is the new temporary height of the ocean until it stops”.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

It’s also much less of a “wave” how we consider them, and more like “this is the new temporary height of the ocean until it stops”.

Did you ever see that Thailand tsunami movie with that Spiderman kid from when he was young? Good movie.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by Locke

Yeah, Victoria and Vancouver thought they were going to get a free street-cleaning.

Just Victoria because it was being the good little shield for Vancouver that god intended.

[Looch City]

#neverforget

We will rebuild.

Canada (coast) Strong.