Count of all tsunamis for 10 year periods from 1701 to the present
Tsunami Lessons from History
The last significant tsunami before 2004's was in June 1998, in New Guinea. The last time a major disaster like Sumatra's happened was on 23 May 1960, when tsunamis triggered by the great Chile earthquake struck Hawaii. I was a little kid at that time, and thanks to the news reports I've never forgotten the hazard that tidal waves present. But a few billion people born since then had not had their awareness raised, until 26 December 2004. That awareness could mean your life.
The Web has a lot of sites with tsunami information. I've got a tsunami list with the best of them. But I think the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo, Hawaii, is special because it has a human face and a human basis.
Hilo was heavily damaged by tsunamis in April 1946 and again in May 1960, so tsunamis are on Hiloans' minds more than for the average Hawaiian. Even so, as the years passed people who remembered began to die and new residents came who didn't take the threat as seriously, and in 1994 the museum was founded to help keep the population prepared and alert. It takes that extra effort to mobilize people against something they haven't seen.
On November 26, 1999, such efforts paid off for the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. A magnitude-7 quake struck late that night, and a tsunami completely wiped out the village of Baie Martelli. But only five lives were lost. A research team reported a month later in Eos:
"The small number of casualties was due to prior education and a party. Because of a wedding on the day of the earthquake, most everyone was still up celebrating when the earthquake occurred. A lookout was sent to note the condition of the sea. When he reported that the water was receding, villagers concluded that a tsunami was coming, and they ran to a nearby hillside to escape the wave. Villagers credited their response to a video of the 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami, which they had seen a few months before. The only casualties were those too elderly to escape the wave, those who returned for possessions after the passage of the first wave, and a man so drunk on kava that he ignored people who were directing him to safety."
Tsunami researcher Andy Moore has photos taken after the Baie Martelli tsunami.
The Web has a lot of sites with tsunami information. I've got a tsunami list with the best of them. But I think the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo, Hawaii, is special because it has a human face and a human basis.
Hilo was heavily damaged by tsunamis in April 1946 and again in May 1960, so tsunamis are on Hiloans' minds more than for the average Hawaiian. Even so, as the years passed people who remembered began to die and new residents came who didn't take the threat as seriously, and in 1994 the museum was founded to help keep the population prepared and alert. It takes that extra effort to mobilize people against something they haven't seen.
On November 26, 1999, such efforts paid off for the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. A magnitude-7 quake struck late that night, and a tsunami completely wiped out the village of Baie Martelli. But only five lives were lost. A research team reported a month later in Eos:
"The small number of casualties was due to prior education and a party. Because of a wedding on the day of the earthquake, most everyone was still up celebrating when the earthquake occurred. A lookout was sent to note the condition of the sea. When he reported that the water was receding, villagers concluded that a tsunami was coming, and they ran to a nearby hillside to escape the wave. Villagers credited their response to a video of the 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami, which they had seen a few months before. The only casualties were those too elderly to escape the wave, those who returned for possessions after the passage of the first wave, and a man so drunk on kava that he ignored people who were directing him to safety."
Tsunami researcher Andy Moore has photos taken after the Baie Martelli tsunami.
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