Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sat 12 Mar 2011 03:29
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Only about twenty minutes after it happened, we received the
news yesterday about the massive earthquake in Japan and the tsunami it
generated. We are fine here on the west coast of Thailand since the
Asian landmass protects us from any wave action generated in the
Pacific.
Given the devastation that occurred in this area as a result
of the 12/26/2004 tsunami that originated off the coast of Sumatra in
the Indian Ocean, residents around here are understandably jumpy when they hear
the words, 'earthquake' and 'tsunami'. Radio broadcasters were quick to
reassure everyone that all was well in Phuket.
Last year, Don signed us up to receive tsunami warnings via
email through a service offered by NOAA (the US National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration). The system is working well. We received hourly
email updates on the recent tsunami with specific information on wave heights
and predicted time of arrival for ports around the entire Pacific including
Russia, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and all the islands in
between. As much as we hated hearing about the devastation resulting from
the quake and tsunami, at least we were reassured that the email warning system
is working.
Anne
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