--- Walter Knapp <> wrote:
>
> From: Marty Michener <>
>
> > This case is a happy instance for the victims, because (and I
> thought
> > EVERYBODY ALREADY KNEW) the water level begins oscillating BEFORE
> the main
> > wave hits, and so if you ever see the water leave the bay - RUN for
>
> > it! Evidently a lot of children went out into the tide pools to
> catch the
> > flopping fish, instead of seeking higher ground. This is the most
> > appalling fact I have yet heard about the current tragedy - so
> preventable,
> > yet again I also wonder how many American school kids living on a
> coast
> > know this simple rule? BTW does everyone know why a tsunami is
> physically
> > impossible on the Atlantic coast? The news guy yesterday didn't!
> It is
> > protected by the relatively shallow banks, upon which 99% of the
> energy
> > would be spent.
>
> I've not been following the news reporting much since some of the
> early
> stuff. Video there showed no initial backwash, the folks nearest to
> the
> water were laying around sunbathing. I suppose what you refer to is
> some
> later reporting.
>
> The tidal wave I went through on the Oregon coast also had no
> backwash
> to warn. It would start each wave with forward current. There was
> then a
> following outwash of near equal proportions. Because we were in a
> bay,
> the current from the forward part hit the marina, the outwash current
>
> was on the other side of the bay at our part due to a curve in the
> bay.
> We could hear it rushing out from our side.
>
> I did also talk to some who were in a campground at one of the Oregon
>
> beaches. They too reported no initial outwash. The Coast Guard boat
> which was in the entrance channel was hit with inbound first, not
> initial outwash there either.
>
> I did know the rule about the initial outwash. If it occurs, you are
> right, get to high ground fast. Just don't count on it occurring. And
>
> hardly anybody knows this. We live in a society that thinks all of
> nature is just our playground. Nothing to worry about. Things like
> this
> remind us we are trivia against nature.
>
> Walt
>
I had heard about this initial outwash, negative wave or drawdown
before. It is discussed here:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=447382
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.
http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
|