Tsunami – Water’s Revenge

1. Tsunami – Water’s Revenge Mary Jo Barbato Globe University – Earth Science NS121 August 26, 2010

2. Tsunami - Introduction • This presentation will show that tsunamis can cause the greatest damage to property and habitat, the most loss of human and animal life, and the greatest global financial losses of other natural disasters within the next fifty years. • Starting with what causes a tsunami, looking at the past, and pondering the future, the following research gives a brief summary of the impact of these brutal, powerful forces of nature.

3. Tsunami – Water’s Revenge Born from earthquakes, difficult to predict, bearers of enormous flood waters, and capable of complete destruction, tsunamis pose a threat to nearly all coastal and island regions of the globe. (Valdes, et.al., 2005) (Atwater, et. al., 1999)

4. Tsunami – How is it made? A submarine event contributes enormous energy through the upward thrust of force to the water. The three major events that trigger tsunamis are: Earthquake, Landslide, or Volcanic eruption Any, or a combination of, these events could cause a tsunami. (Valdes, et.al., 2005) (Valdes, et. al., 2005)

5. Crescent City, California, flooded by the 1960 Chilean tsunami. $30,000 in damage, damage in the Los Angeles area, from $500,000 to $1,000,000 , 1 death (Atwater, et.al., 1999) Tsunami – Recent Past • Past tsunamis clearly show the financial impacts, life effects, and property damage that these natural energy forces can impose.

6. Tsunami – Recent Past • Chilean 1960 • 8.6 magnitude earthquake (Dudley, 1988) • Pacific-wide event (Dudley, 1988) • Over 2,200 killed (Lander, 1989) • Damages of over $524M ($4B in 2010 dollars) (Lander, 1989) • Affected Hawaii, Chile, Peru, Japan, and California (Obee, 1989) • Indonesian 2004 • 9.3 magnitude earthquake (von Radowitz, 2005) • More than 270,000 killed (von Radowitz, 2005) • Largest in recent history (von Radowitz, 2005) • Over 30 foot high waves (von Radowitz, 2005) • Damages of over $4.5 Billion (Frankenberg, et. al. 2009) • Affected India, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka (von Radowitz, 2005) • Aleutian Islands – 1946 • 7.8 magnitude earthquake centered south of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands (Dudley, 1988) • Pacific-wide event (Dudley, 1988) • 261 killed (Lander, 1989) • $52 million in damage ($617M 2010 dollars) (Lander, 1989) • Resulted in creation of the Seismic Sea Wave Warning System (now called the Pacific Tsunami Warning System) (Lander, 1989) Unknown – Retrieved from website: http://www.ess. washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/chilean60.html Unknown – Retrieved from website: http://library. thinkquest.org/07aug/01953/images/2004-tsunami.jpg NOAA/EDIS

7. Tsunami - Predictability • Another tsunami to compare to the 2004 Indonesian tsunami is likely. But, scientists can’t say if it will be in months, years, decades, or centuries from now. (AP, 2005) It is certain though, that the devastation from a large tsunami is catastrophic. 1960 Chilean Tsunami – hitting Japan (Atwater, et.al., 1999)

8. Tsunami – Predictability • Scientists cannot predict, with accuracy, when the next earthquake will hit a region. • Tsunamis are created from an earthquake, thus they are as unpredictable. A tsunami wave differs from a regular wave in that it flows through the water, not on top of it. This makes a tsunami virtually unnoticeable until it reaches shallower water or land. • After a substantial submarine earthquake, there will be tsunami waves. In deeper water the waves can go undetected. A small tsunami wave in great depths can become a monster wave in shallow waters. In fact, a tsunami isn’t a single wave, but a series of waves. • The size of the earthquake, depth of the water, and distance from land all affect the impact the waves will have to humans, plants and animals. (Valdes, et. al., 2005)

9. Tsunami - Predictability • Scientific calculations can estimate when a tsunami will reach a point in the world using three factors: • Depth of the water • Distances from one place to another • Time of the earthquake or other submarine event • (www.dosomething.org) (Atwater, et. al., 1999)

10. Tsunami – If and When • More tsunamis have affected the Pacific side of the U.S. than the Atlantic side. The Pacific has the most active tectonic plates and more water. A major contributing factor is the Ring of Fire that surrounds the Pacific. This is highly active earthquake and volcanic region. (Thinkquest, n.d.) • During the 20th century there have been 27 tsunamis in the Pacific that have impacted the U.S.(Valdes, et.al., 2005) • 8 of those tsunamis have caused at least one human death (Valdes, et.al., 2005) • The odds of another killer tsunami to hit the U.S. from the Pacific within a year is 8.3%, or 1 in 12. (Valdes, et.al., 2005)

11. Tsunami - Damages When a tsunami hits land it may cause : - damage to land and seashore - damage or destruction of buildings - loss of human life - destruction of animal habitat - loss of animal and plant life See slide #6 for specific damage estimates from recent tsunamis. Wreckage of a political party clubhouse from a tsunami that hit the Aleutian Islands in 1946 (Valdes, et. al., 2005)

12. Tsunami – Impact on life forms • Human • Most major tsunamis will take human life. When gone undetected or warnings not heeded, the strength of a tsunami can reach shore and pull everything in its path out to sea. The reach can be as far as more than a mile inland. (Valdes, 2005) • Humans do not sense danger and are prone to not heed warnings. (Mott, 2005) • Animal • Five months after the 2004 Indonesian tsunami an expedition to the epicenter of the quake found the entire seabed “devoid of life”. This loss of lower life forms conversely will affect the higher rungs of the food chain. (von Radowitz, 2005) • Animals seem to sense the danger of an earthquake and the impending tsunami and flee to higher ground. The 2004 Indonesian tsunami saw few animal fatalities. (Mott, 2005) • Environment • Aquifers (underground water supplies) are infiltrated with salt water. (Joint Needs, 2005) • Water and wind causes vast soil erosion. (Joint Needs, 2005) • Plant • Entire beaches are destroyed, ripping plant life out to sea. (Mott, 2005) • Agricultural lands are destroyed by destruction of plants. (Joint Needs, 2005) • Perennial trees are uprooted and killed. (Joint Needs, 2005)

13. Tsunami – Warning Systems There are several different warning systems in place around the globe to monitor and warn of tsunami events. NOAA has a network of buoys in place to collect data, but installing and monitoring the system is expensive and daunting considering the vastness of the oceans. Some regions have little or no monitoring or warning system in place. The Pacific Region has a warning system in place which includes data collection for forecast models and staffed warning centers (NOAA/PEML) (NOAA’s National Weather Service)

14. Tsunami – Warning Systems • The Pacific Tsunami Warning System works much like the system for tornados or other strong weather. If an event occurs the center determines the probability of a damaging tsunami and issues one of the following: • Each stage will include steps to take to remain safe. • Weather radios and Mass Media help spread tsunami information. (NOAA’s National Weather Service) • Advisory • Watches • Warnings

15. Tsunami – Can world survive? • Science is continually improving ways to alert the public to the threat of a tsunami. It will be dependent on the people whether the warning systems are effective. • Governments and Communities must help with survival by: • Planning • Promoting Awareness • Education • Steps to help insure survivability: • Heed warnings • Have a family disaster plan • Practice an evacuation route • Purchase weather radio (NOAA/PMEL)

16. Tsunami – Financial affects • World Markets – Damages can impact a nation’s gross domestic product by more than 50%. (Joint Needs, 2005) A healthy GDP triggers a healthy market. • Individuals – Many people will lose their residence, business and belongings. They may lose documents and other valuables such as cash, jewelry, or bonds. (Joint Needs, 2005) • Corporations – Firms will have employees without homes, damages to their infrastructures, and losses due to market conditions. Industries like tourism and fisheries are largely hit from a tsunami. Resorts and boats are damaged or destroyed and many have inadequate insurance, or insurance companies are unable to pay claims due to their own financial losses due to the tsunami. (Joint Needs, 2005) • Local government budgets – Governments will be forced to take on additional debt. (Joint Needs, 2005) Lesser developed countries risk being at the mercy of more developed countries that lend them money. • Industry specific profits – Countries may have to hire contractors to fill specific jobs, such as, security forces and law enforcement. (Joint Needs, 2005) Historically, the construction industry has profited from natural disasters.

17. Conclusion Tsunamis, while relatively rare, are capable of intense and swift devastation to life, property and the environment. Their force and occurrence are unpredictable, warning systems are under-developed or ignored, and a large tsunami is capable of affecting every region of the globe. The affects can be felt from loss of human life, financial loss and through the affects on the global eco-system. The time has come to take measurable steps in improve our warning systems, educate the public, raise awareness and implement plans for adequate response to the potential of a tsunami. The town clock of Waiakea stopped at 1:04 a.m. when the 1960 Chilean tsunami struck Hawaii. The clock, still showing that time, now stands as a monument to the 1960 tsunami. (Atwater, et. al., 1999)

18. Bibliography Associate Press. “Timing of next Indonesian tsunami a mystery”. June, 2005. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from website: http://www. msnbc.msn.com/id/8379571/ Atwater, Brian F. and Cisternas, Marco V., and Bourgeois, Joanne and Dudley, Walter C. and Hendley II, James W. and Stauffer, Peter H. “Surviving a Tsunami-Lessons from Chile, Hawaii, and Japan” 1999. Retrieved on August 24, from website: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ circ/c1187/ DoSomething.Org. “11 Facts about Tsunamis”. Retrieved on August 26, 2010 from website: http://www.dosomething.org/ tipsandtools/11-facts-about-tsunamis Dudley, Walter C. and Min Lee. “Tsunami!” Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1988. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from website: http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/chilean60.html and http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/ general/historic/aleutian46.html Frankenberg, Elizabeth and Katz, Peter and Sikoki, Bondan and Thomas, Duncan. “Economic Consequences of the 2004 Tsunami for Households and Individuals in Indonesia”. 2009. Retrieved on August 24,2010 from website: http://paa2009.princeton.edu/download. aspx?submissionId=91888 Joint Needs Assessment World Bank-Asian Development Bank – UN System. February, 2005. “Tsunami: Impact & Recovery”. Retrieved on August 26, 2010 from website: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMALDIVES/Resources/mv-na-full-02-14-05.pdf Lander, James F. and Patricia A. Lockridge. United States Tsunamis. Publication 41-2. U.S. Department of Commerce. August 1989. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from website: http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/chilean60.html and http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/aleutian46.html

19. Bibliography Mott, Maryann, National Geographic News. “Did Animals Sense Tsunami Was Coming?” January 4, 2005. Retrieved on August 25, 2010 from website: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0104_050104_tsunami_animals.html NOAA/EDIS, n.d., retrieved on August 24, 2010 from website: http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/ images_46.html NOAA’s National Weather Service, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Retrieved on August 26, 2010 from website: http://www. weather.gov/ptwc/ NOAA / PMEL / Center for Tsunami Research, n.d., retrieved on August 25, 2010 from website: http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/indo_ 1204.Html Obee, Bruce. “Tsunami!” Canadian Geographic, Vol. 109, No. 1, February-March, 1989, p. 46-53. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from website: http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/chilean60.html Thinkquest. “Tsunamis”. n.d. Retrieved on August 26, 2010 from website: http://library.thinkquest.org/10136/tsunami/tsuntq.htm Valdes, Robert, and Nathan Halabrin.  "How Tsunamis Work"  04 January 2005.  HowStuffWorks.com. http://science.howstuffworks. com/nature/natural-disasters/tsunami.htm 25 August 2010. von Radowitz, John. “Shocked scientists find tsunami legacy: a dead sea.” December 14, 2005. Retreived on August 24, 2010 from website: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/12/13/1134236063754.html