Introduction to the Earthquake
It was one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, a magnitude 8.8 monster off the eastern coast of Russia. Despite its remote location, the size of the quake immediately brought potential danger of tsunami to a significant swath of the globe, including Japan, Canada and the United States. Tsunami alerts immediately went out, covering millions of people, including the entire U.S. West Coast.
The Unexpected Outcome
But for all its strength, the quake ended up not being a catastrophe. Dangerous waves that rose more than 10 feet never materialized outside of Russia, and even there, officials had no reports of deaths, and damage appeared to be limited. “In this case, we mostly dodged a bullet,” said Mike Rademaker, harbormaster for the Crescent City Harbor, a place that saw deadly tsunamis both in 1964 with the Alaska mega-quake and 2011 when the great Japanese quake hit.
Understanding Tsunami Dynamics
People gather on Santa Monica Pier after the tsunami passes. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) “With tsunamis, location and directionality is everything,” said Nathan Wood, a tsunami scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey. The area near the epicenter off Siberia’s Kamchatka Peninsula did see damage, but it was sparsely populated. Video of the town of Severo-Kurilsk, on an island just off the peninsula, showed a building being swept away.
Directionality and Energy Dissipation
But for areas farther out, initial modeling suggests the tsunami’s energy was directed into the open Pacific Ocean, roughly between Alaska and Hawaii, and had time to weaken before it hit more populated areas. “It just kind of shot right between the two of those [states],” Wood said. The tsunami “impacted the local community that was right next to the source [earthquake] where it happened,” Wood said. “But for everyone else, it kind of just shot right down this empty hallway — in between the Aleutian Islands chain and the Hawaiian Islands — and so there wasn’t really a whole lot in its way.
Tsunami Impact on Various Locations
Russia saw tsunami waves as high as 16 feet, according to news wire reports, but tsunami heights maxed out at 4 feet in Crescent City, 3 feet in Arena Cove in Mendocino County, 2.7 feet at Port San Luis in San Luis Obispo County, 2.6 feet at Point Reyes in Marin County and 1.5 feet in Monterey. The totals were even smaller in Southern California. The highest wave in the U.S. was 5.7 feet in Kahului, Hawaii, on Maui.
Comparison with Past Events
Initial tsunami advisory for the West Coast on Tuesday evening. (NOAA / National Weather Service) But by Tuesday evening, the National Tsunami Warning Center’s forecasts indicated that Crescent City would see a tsunami that would likely cap out at no more than 5 feet, and with places like San Francisco and Los Angeles harbor at less than 1 foot or so. Dave Snider, the tsunami warning coordinator at the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, said it might be too early to assess how much damage this tsunami did, but “it is true, maybe this one wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”
Factors Influencing Tsunami Impact
The magnitude of the earthquake is important, but it’s “more about how much of that water moved, and what direction was that energy pointed at the coastline,” Snider said. “In this case, it looks like maybe it just wasn’t focused at the California coastline with that intensity of other known events.” There are other tsunami scenarios that pose far greater risks to California. One involves a near-shore tsunami, such as a magnitude 9 earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone, just off the coast of California’s North Coast, Oregon and Washington.
Preparation and Awareness
Awareness of tsunami alerts has improved over the years in large part thanks to deep ocean pressure sensors that can detect tsunami that are overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Eric Geist, research geophysicist for the USGS. “There were several, fortunately, in operation right off the Kamchatka subduction zone,” Geist said. “So we knew, really quick, that a tsunami — and a fairly sizable one — was generated.” One of the tragedies of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was a lack of warning.
Conclusion
The recent earthquake off the coast of Russia, despite being one of the largest recorded, resulted in minimal damage due to the directionality of the tsunami’s energy and the sparse population near the epicenter. The event highlights the importance of understanding tsunami dynamics and the need for continued preparation and awareness. Efforts such as the use of deep ocean pressure sensors and updated tsunami hazard maps have improved the ability to detect and respond to tsunamis, but there is still room for improvement, particularly in public awareness and evacuation procedures.
FAQs
Q: What was the magnitude of the earthquake?
A: The earthquake had a magnitude of 8.8.
Q: Where was the earthquake located?
A: The earthquake was located off the eastern coast of Russia.
Q: What was the maximum tsunami wave height recorded in the U.S.?
A: The highest wave in the U.S. was 5.7 feet in Kahului, Hawaii, on Maui.
Q: Were there any reports of deaths or damage?
A: There were no reports of deaths, and damage appeared to be limited.
Q: What factors contributed to the minimal damage from the tsunami?
A: The directionality of the tsunami’s energy and the sparse population near the epicenter contributed to the minimal damage.
