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A tsunami generated by a massive earthquake off Alaska could cause major damage to California's economy and force 750,000 people to evacuate, a report published Wednesday warned. One third of all boats in California's marinas could be damaged or sunk, costing some $700 million in losses, while major ports would struggle to get huge cargo vessels out to sea in time to avoid being buffeted by tsunamis. Experts from the US Geological Survey (USGS) based their damage assessment on the scenario of a 9.1 magnitude quake off Alaska's Pacific Coast, which it said was "hypothetical but plausible." "In this scenario...

Japanese in cars try to escape upcoming tsunami.

Waves as high as 7m (22 ft) have hit parts of Chile and coastal areas are on alert as high winds and tidal currents sweep across parts of South America's coast. Footage showed huge waves surging onto the streets of Antofagasta in Chile where at least one injury was reported following the dangerous weather. In Peru, parts of the country's coastline were hit with waves as big as 5m (16 ft) and the weather caused flooded streets in the seaside city of Chimbote.

USGS map showing where the earthquake was located HILO, Hawaii – East Hawaii was shaken after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, after a 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island. The United States Geological Survey later upgraded the quake to a magnitude 5.6, before being lowered back to a 5.3. The USGS centered the earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, 33 miles southeast of Pahala in the southern Ka’u district. Emergency officials say no tsunami was generated. The temblor was felt across Hawaii Island. The quake shook homes in Hilo for a few moments before settling down. The incident sent local users of social...

We've seen a lot of footage of the tragic Japan tsunami, but this clip is the most horrifying yet. Entitled "South Sanriku -- Tsunami seen from Shizugawa High School," it's shot from high ground, but toward the end of the video you can see panicked residents running for their lives.

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese government-backed researcher said Friday no health effects from radiation released by the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have been seen in people living nearby. The pronouncement by Kazuo Sakai of Japan's National Institute of Radiological Sciences is the latest by authorities seeking to quell fears over the long-term effects of the disaster. But it was dismissed by campaign group Greenpeace who said the government should not seek to play down health worries. "Since the accident in Fukushima, no health effects from radiation have been observed, although we have heard reports some people fell ill due to...

A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake off the Solomon Islands generated a tsunami of up to 5 feet that killed at least 5 people, a hospital official says, while the death toll is feared to rise as officials inspect dozens of damaged homes. Authorities on Wednesday canceled warnings for tsunamis on more distant coasts. Solomons officials reported two 1.5-meter (4 foot, 11 inch) waves hit the western side of Santa Cruz Island, damaging between 70 and 80 homes and properties, said George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister. Many villagers of the South Pacific island chain had headed to higher...

EARLY......

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 Magnitude 10 temblor could happen: study Kyodo It is theoretically possible that the world could see a quake with a magnitude of around 10, a researcher at Tohoku University told the government's Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction, Japan. /snip A magnitude 10 quake would likely cause ground motions for up to an hour, with tsunami hitting while the shaking was still going on, according to the research. Tsunami would continue for several days, causing damage to several Pacific Rim nations.

While working on a highway-widening project in the middle of South America's Atacama Desert, Chilean workers unearthed an eerie scene that had no business being more than a kilometer away from the ocean: a mass fossil graveyard containing more than 75 ancient whales, reports MSNBC. Finding whale bones in the middle of the desert is strange enough, but scientists were quick to notice a deeper mystery. The fossils ended up right next to one another — some mere meters apart — as if to suggest that the whales all died at once, possibly during some cataclysmic tragedy. What could have...

Tsunami alert. Pray for Japan.

Nearly 1,500 years ago a massive flood in Geneva reportedly swept away everything in its path -- mills, houses, cattle, even entire churches. Now researchers believe they've found the unlikely sounding culprit: a tsunami-like killer wave in the Alps. The threat, they add, may still be very much alive. (Video: Tsunamis 101.) Spurred by a huge landslide, the medieval Lake Geneva "tsunami" (technically defined as a seismic ocean wave) swamped the city, which was already a trading hub, according to a new study. Far from any ocean, the massive wave was likely generated by a massive landslide into the Rhone...

First waves coming 10:28 local time...Tsunami Warning for Hawaii live on CNN

VANCOUVER—A tsunami warning was issued late Saturday for the coastal areas of northwest British Columbia following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake off the waters near Prince Rupert. It was followed by at least aftershocks. People in coastal areas were told to move inland to higher ground while residents in low-lying coastal areas were ordered to be on alert for instructions from their local emergency officials after the tsunami warning was issued just before 8 p.m. local time. The epicentre was reported in coastal waters about 40 kilometres south of Sandspit, B.C. at a depth of 19 kilometres. Natural Resources Canada issued...

<p>The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer issued a tsunami warning Saturday evening for Southeast Alaska and the British Columbia coast minutes after a strong earthquake struck the region.</p>

Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Breaking

From the file of “Things that would really be catastrophic”. Did a meteor have a role in a major shift in Earth’s Climate?The start of the Quaternary period (2.588 million years ago, where the Pliocene became Pleistocene) coincides with evidence of a mega tsunami in the South Pacific.The Eltanin Meteor fell into the South Pacific 2.5 million years ago setting off a (likely) tsunami that was hundreds of meters high and theoretically pushed mass material into the atmosphere which may have contributed to the cooling the globe had already started on. This meteor was hard to detect because it hit...

(Phys.org)—When a huge meteor collided with Earth about 2.5 million years ago in the southern Pacific Ocean it not only likely generated a massive tsunami but also may have plunged the world into the Ice Ages, a new study suggests. A team of Australian researchers says that because the Eltanin meteor – which was up to two kilometres across - crashed into deep water, most scientists have not adequately considered either its potential for immediate catastrophic impacts on coastlines around the Pacific rim or its capacity to destabilise the entire planet's climate system. "This is the only known deep-ocean impact...

Alan E Hayden, the director of more than 200 medieval excavations in Ireland, believes the grouping of islands off the Kerry coast suggests earthquake and tsunami wave style damage... The Times report adds: "A folk tale collected by a teacher in the early part of the last century offers an explanation for local place names connected to a road that ran from Dolus Head through the islands to Skellig. "The road, a pre-medieval structure, is called Bóthar na Scairte, or road of the cataclysm, and it is traceable for some distance on Valentia. In the folk tale the road and...

Call to tighten safety design as scientists admit to being baffled by deadly 100ft rogue waves They are the stuff of legend and maritime myth: giant waves, taller than tower-blocks, that rise out of calm seas and destroy everything in their paths. For years scientists and marine experts have dismissed such stories as superstition. Walls of water do not rise out of the blue, they said. But now research has revealed that 'killer waves' do exist and regularly devastate ships around the world. They defy all scientific understanding and no craft is capable of withstanding their impact. 'Rogue waves in...