Giant wave could threaten US

BBC ^ | 10 August 2004

[Richard Axtell]

When I first heard about this island, the same thought occured to me. But, it is just too perfect, too much like a movie script. Al Quaida is just not that imaginative. They aren't reading this, are they?

[xp38]

You missed it. The Day After Tomorrow was all the rage for a weekend or so.

[pyx]

The wall of water would weaken as it crossed the ocean, but would still be 40-50 metres (130-160 feet) high by the time it hit land.

Surf's up !

[datura]

"I have a hard time believing that an explosion/landslide off the coast of Africa could cause a tsunami to travel all the way across the Atlantic ocean.

Remember that we are talking thousands of miles travelled here and that such a wave front would spread out to devastate the entire east cost of the New World. The energy required for that would just be, IMO, impossible to create with a simple landslide."

---

Remember that the earthquake in Alaska travelled around the planet either 5 or 7 times. The tsunami killed many people in Japan. The energy of the wave travels along the bottom of the ocean, where at those densities and pressures, nearly 100% of the initial energy transfers. It is NOT evident on the surface....At least not until all that energy begins racing up the continental shelf, where it would become slightly visible. At shoreline, however, we would witness a wave or series of waves that were indeed 500-600 meters tall. Yes, 1900 feet tall. And yes, moving at nearly 400 miles per hour.

The Navy has installed instruments to detect the energy of a tsunami on the ocean bottoms, so there would be some warning. How many would believe it is up for questions.

[phroebe]

Does anyone really live on Hierro?

People live on all of them. And only La Gomera, if I'm not mistaken, has no airport (there's no area flat enough for one).

[GOP_Raider]

Damn, I really need to think these through a bit more.

[rmlew]

Wouldn't the wave go in all directions??
For a millisecond, yes. However, the cliff behind the fallen side would reflect the energy/waterwave forward.
AS for the article, I think I saw this on the Discovery channel last year. They did a week of disasters, including spacebourne body collisions, megatsunami, megavolcanoes, solar flares, hurricanes and tornadoes.

[rmlew]

I already have one about a nuke going off at yellowstone park, which is an active caldera.

[rmlew]

paiging Laird Johnson. Forget about an arctic storm producing a 100-foot wave. Try something 15 times larger. Sure, you will die, but it would be one hell of a way to go.
I, on the other hand, like most denizens of NYC, will die parked on some highway, cursing Robert Moses for not building more.

[rmlew]

I'm thinking the wave from Deep Impact would be a better model.

[3catsanadog]

For sure; the Bush administration is using this to get his poll numbers up and postpone the election in November.

[3catsanadog]

I've gotta go - I need to save the wild ponies on Assateaque Island!

[3catsanadog]

(tee-hee) and how's Cuba going to fare? (tee-hee)

[Redcloak]

"...women and minorities hardest hit."

[3catsanadog]

Does this mean Pittsburgh will be the new Miami of America?

[television is just wrong]

Ok, and he won't tell us til after the election.

[Graymatter]

I saw a tv program about this hypothetical disaster. Last year sometime, maybe on Discovery channel? Fascinating show. Not sure their science is what it should be, though.

[xp38]

I missed that one too but I did see When Worlds Collide and Crack in the World as a kid so I got my apocalyptic dosage while young.

[quietolong]

And from the west

Scientists closely monitoring Yellowstone. 200 degree ground temperatures reported.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1050165/posts

Sodom and Gomorrah Rediscovered
http://www.bibleplus.org/discoveries/sodomfound.htm

[Cronos]

By rough estimate, NY is about twice as far from the Canaries as London.

The difference is that when the wave hits the shore in England -- it will ravage the south-western coast (remember the western most part of Portugal and Spain would protect England to a large extent.

Lisbon may be hit, but if the landslide pushs waves out west from the islands they may not affect Europe too much at all. It would hit the Atlantic islands first.