The earthquake off the coast of Sumatra that triggered thelate December 26 tsunami has increased stress on the seabedfault zone, raising the chances of another earthquake, whichwould lead to another tsunami. Seismologists don’t know howsoon another earthquake will occur, but when one quakestimulates a second one, the second earthquake usuallyhappens within a year of the first one.
read more
After the recent devastating loss of life from the DecemberIndonesian tsunami, geophysicists are searching for otherareas where the same kind of disaster may be lurking due topotential underwater earthquake activity. Now they saythere’s a real danger that the Caribbean will be next.
Scientists say that several natural phenomena could triggergiant tsunamis, with effects felt in the islands of theGreater and Lesser Antilles and along the east and Gulfcoasts of the United States. These areas, which wererelatively sparsely populated when the last waves hit, nowhave large populations.
read more
A powerful 6.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Honshu,Japan at 10:38 PM Pacific time Tuesday. A short time later,the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warningbased on the action of warning buoys in the earthquake area.
The magnitude 6.3 event has been located off the east coastof Honshu, Japan. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be40 km (25 miles).
Seismic events in this area are known to cause wave action,and Japan has developed one of the best warning systems inthe world. It is expected that a 30 foot tsunami willstrike Honshu approximately every ten years, and manycritical port areas are protected by tsunami barriers.
read more
There are only two places in the U.S. where an earthquakecould cause a tsunami on the scale of the one that hit theFar East recently. Studies show that at least one of theseareas is long overdue for a quake and may have one at anytime.
Robin Lloyd writes in LiveScience.com that the Cascadiasubduction zone, running 50 miles up the coast of thePacific Northwest, has experienced four huge earthquakes inthe past 1,600 years, and another big one is overdue.
read more