Dec
27
2004
Tsunami in Asia
As posted on the U.S. Geological Survey web site:
A great earthquake occurred at 00:58:49 (UTC) on Sunday, December 26, 2004.
The magnitude 9.0 event has been located OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA.
(This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
Official USGS earthquake report
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This article on the Wikipedia describes the event in detail:The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake of moment magnitude 9.0 that struck the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004 at 00:58:49 UTC (07:58:49 local time in Jakarta and Bangkok). It was the largest earthquake on Earth since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake which struck Alaska, USA, on March 27, 1964, and the fourth largest since 1900. Tens of thousands were killed by the resulting tsunamis, which were as high as 10 m (33 ft) and struck between 15 minutes and 3 hours after the quake.
These before and after satelite images really show the true force of the tsunami.
Researchers analyzing seismic data say the earthquake that caused the Asian tsunami was three times more powerful than first thought. The finding reclassifies the earthquake on the Richter scale at magnitude 9.3-second only to the 9.5-magnitude quake recorded in Chile in 1960. It also explains why the tsunami caused such damage across the ocean in Sri Lanka and India.
For survivors in the areas where the tsunami hit, this could actually be good news. Researchers think that, having released such a large amount of energy, it could take a few hundred years for the zone to build up enough pressure for another huge earthquake.
The good news? UN experts and the countries that border the Indian Ocean have agreed on a timetable for an early warning system. The system will be developed in three stages. In the immediate future, Japan and the US will provide alerts on seismic activity in the region. Then tidal movement gauges will be installed near Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and the 15 preexisting tidal gauges will be upgraded. Finally, a full regional warning center will be built, with links to a network of gauges and underwater sensors.
The bad news? The cost of the system and the eventual location of the warning center have yet to be decided. And individual nations still have to train people in reacting to tsunami warnings. Still, officials are hopeful that the warning center will be operational by the end of 2006.
A warning center could have helped to prevent the deaths of many of the estimated 300,000 people killed by the December 26 tsunami.
To read more click here
The first phase of a tsunami early warning system has gotten underway off the coast of Indonesia. The article includes a diagram of how the system will work.
I have been woundering what causes tsunamis andd what temperature it can reach in the ocean to cause it to because a tsunami?\r\n
Tsunamis are caused by geologic events, like earthquakes and volcanoes, not fluctuations in ocean temperature.
For more about what causes tsunamis, try this Seagrant page, National Geographic's tsunami page, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's tsunami page.
Could it happen here? A recent report claims that California is unprepared for a major tsunami. Though progress is being made in protecting the state from the potential threat, there is still much work to be done in areas such as warning systems, evacuation plans and building codes. About a million Californians live in low-lying coastal areas, and would be vulnerable to a tsunami event.
my dad said that the earth shifted its roatation when that tusimi hit. did it realy?
no it didnt the tsunami was caused by a volcanic erruption under the ocean knowen as a earthquake. while the tsunami hit asia numbers of time and hit 9.9 on the ructur scale.as it hit the weather changed direction slitley.
Your dad is correct. (I think Lauren maybe misunderstood your question, thinking your dad said that a shift in the Earth's rotation caused the earthquake.)
The earthquake was indeed powerful enough to slightly alter Earth's rotation, shortening the length of a day by about 2.68 microseconds. (That's one billionth the length of a day.)
It also caused Earth to wobble on its axis anywhere from 2.5 to 6 centimeters.
However, interaction with the Moon causes our days to lengthen at an average of 15 microseconds each year. So the effects of the tsunami will be cancelled out pretty quickly. And the Earth naturally wobbles up to 50 meters, so...
if anyone knows good info on tsunami's leave a comment and where u got it from so i can use it in my assignment
Can I get something off my chest? We used to call tsunamis "tidal waves." But know-it-all scientists complained, "These waves have nothing to do with tides. You should call them tsunamis instead."
"Tsunami" is a Japanese word meaning "harbor wave." And guess what? These waves have nothing to do with harbors, either! I propose that scientists go back to their laboratories and quit messing around with the dictionary!
Hey does anyone know where i can get the cause of the tsunami in great length. I would really appreciate it.
WOW!
You can really see the difference in the before and after pictures.
Indonesia has installed a new tsunami warning system.
what was the largest ever was it a 9.5 or what
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