posted
One of the painful miracles of the modern age is tourists with their video cameras, and I'm not being unrespectful. If people are upset by these, I will delete the post immediately:
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Isn't it amazing(in a sad, scary way), though, that even with our modern technology, no one has a picture of the huge, thirty-foot wave?
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
What made me cry was the fact that those people watching looked so surprised, and just did not even know what was happening or about to happen, but i did.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
There was one I watched on the news this evening - taken by tourists at a hotel. They were on the second floor, filming the water coming in. And then the water entered the room they were in, about four feet high.
It was at a hotel that Fahim had been to for business functions.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Teshi, please *don't* delete this thread. I would like to see these videos, painful though I expect them to be to watch, and the ifilms site is blocked from my workplace.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I agree. I don't want this thread deleted. It's too important for you to understand what it's like, and videos help. Tremendously.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote: Tsunami is a Japanese word represented by two characters: 'tsu' and 'nami.' The character 'tsu' means harbor, and the character 'nami' means wave. In the past, tsunamis were often referred to as 'tidal waves.' The term 'tidal wave' is a misnomer. Tides are the result of gravitational influences of the moon, sun, and planets. Tsunamis are not caused by the tides and are unrelated to the tides; although a tsunami striking a coastal area is influenced by the tide level at the time of impact."
I would note that they aren't really related to or caused by harbors either. I think both words mean the same thing, but tsunami is the word used most often in current usage.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
A Tidal Wave CAN break, but that is highly dependant upon where the wave hits on the coastline and what the underwater characteristics of the coastline are like.
Usually it is more like a storm serge, where there are waves but the entire level of the sea rises and swamps the coast.
The difference between a storm serge and a tiadl wave is that one, the tidal wave, is caused by a sudden movment of water, such as an eplosion by a volcano, and the other (stome serge) iscaused by a weather pattern. The high winds and frontal patter cause the waves to hit the coast hard and actually temporrarily raise the level of the sea.
The most famous storm serge to hit the US was the 1900 Galveston Hurrricane.
quote: The Cold Facts of the Great Galveston Hurricane Estimated Maximum Wind Speed: 120 mph The official anemometer blew away after recording a sustained wind speed of 84 mph and gust of 102 mph. Estimated Storm Surge: 15 to 20 ft Galveston's highest point stood only 8.7 feet above sea level. The storm surge occurred at high tide. Lowest Observed Pressure: 28.53 inches (966 hPa) 27.49 inches Hg (931 hPa) At the Galveston Weather Office At sea. Estimated Saffir-Simpson Category: Category 4 Estimated Dead: 8,000 -- 6,000 in Galveston + 2,000 in surrounding area (Some place the figure as high as 12,000). Estimated Number of Homes Destroyed: 3,600-plus in Galveston. Estimated Total Damage: $25 to 50 million (in 1900 dollars); $760 million (in 1994 dollars)
20% if the population of Gaveston died.
Just to put this tradedy in perspective....and this is was the single glargest natural disaster to hit the USA.
So far the Sumatra event is almost x6 worse, and the deaths from disease and poor sanitation haven't even begun yet.
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That second video of the three linked to -- the one that shows those two guys getting swept away they showed that on the morning news this morning. I was really surprised to see it shown on national news..
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One of those guys climbs out later in the video. At least, I think it's him.
The other isn't seen again, but I'm hoping he just wasn't in frame when he got out. Which is a little strange that I care so much about this one person, considering how many people actually died.
posted
Maybe not so strange at all, Dag. It's extremely difficult to deal with these kinds of numbers, especially the updated toll I heard this morning. Seeing those videos opened my eyes more to the fact that even though this happened half a world away, these are people very much like myself, even more so than hearing on our news about local area residents who were vacationing there and either have been confirmed dead or still have no contact.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
Dag, that wasn't one of the two who were clinging to the railing climbing out. It was someone who was seen earlier, trying to get to where he could help pull them up, and not succeeding, then returning to "safety." At least, that's how it looked to me, and I went back and watched that part a few times.
Not like it matters, as was stated, considering how many people died. But it's hard watching the video and saying "Those two people right there just got swept away and probably never made it back."
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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