SNBC’s Alan Boyle’s CosmicLog has an good interview with Stuart Weinstein, deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
They are comparing the tsunami warning systems from the Indian Ocean quake/tsunami five years ago to this week’s tsunami.
>>The best news about the past five years is that the network of sensors watching for seismic and ocean activity has expanded dramatically. Satellite communication systems pass along readings from those sensors every 15 minutes or less.
“Back in 2004, when the Sumatran disaster struck, there were only four instruments in the Indian Ocean that were transmitting their data and making it available in near real time,” Weinstein said. “Now there are over 50.”<<
Apparently many people fled coastlines only to have the alert canceled over an hour later. (This would be fine with me. I’d rather walk home dry and safe any day.) At the bottom of the blog, there are some links to NOAA’s Center for Tsunami research. Really cool.
ANd if you awnt to see a tsunami in action – waves and mountains of debris surging past during a tsunami – Check out this on YouTube.