MetaFilter posts tagged with tsunami

Tsunami

sycophant — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:51:24 -0800

Newsfilter: A large (8.3) earthquake near Samoa has triggered a tsunami in Samoa and American Samoa, and warnings for the pacific and Hawaii. Witnesses on TVNZ's Breakfast show from Samoa have described quite serious damage and people being swept away by a two-three metre wave.

The First Ripples of the Silver Tsunami

Acromion — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:18:53 -0800

Nearly 1 in 5 young adults is out of work. Student debt is the highest its ever been. With a 10 year job growth of negative 230,000 jobs, the pool of available jobs is the lowest its ever been as a ratio to available college grads. And even with this dwindling tax base, in order to sustain Medicare and Social Security by 2020, we will need to tax 1.5 workers for every retiree. The dominant media narrative now is focused on the racial tensions surrounding Obama's health care reform. But in reality, the strongest opposition to Obama now comes not from young whites, who stand to benefit the most from medical reform. It is largely from 'angry white seniors' who fear cuts in the their Medicare. Are you ready for the Silver Tsunami?

They Moved the Whole Town

netbros — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:47:45 -0800

The town of Valdez, Alaska is located in south central Alaska on the northeast tip of Prince William Sound. Incorporated since 1901, the community’s first century has been marked by a number of significant events the most notable of which are the 1964 Alaska Earthquake, being chosen as the terminus of the trans-Alaska Pipeline and the tragic 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Earlier this week Rafaelloello gave us a wonderful post about the Alaskan village of Whittier. The Alaskan town of Valdez has a history equally as interesting. During the 1964 Alaska earthquake the North American plate released upward, displacing a huge volume of ocean water and causing a seismic wave, a tsunami, to travel outward. The wave traveled at an estimated 450 miles per hour in the deeper ocean in a long wave of almost imperceptible height. At the shallow Valdez Inlet the wave reached a maximum height of nearly 200 feet. Further on, at the old town of Valdez, a 30 foot wall of water struck and demolished all structures. Twenty eight Valdez residents died when the tsunami crashed ashore. Valdez was later rebuilt at a higher elevation and further from the waterfront. Valdez' distinguishing characteristics are the incomparable rugged beauty of its natural mountain ringed setting and its extremely high average annual snowfall of 360 inches (30 feet) the most of any community at sea level in North America. Valdez’s economy is based on oil, tourism, commercial fishing, shipping/transportation and city and state government. Unfortunately, when most hear the word Valdez, they think oil spill.

A World Fit for Children

homunculus — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:00:55 -0800

Progress for Children: A World Fit for Children Statistical Review "reports on how well the world is doing in meeting its commitments for the world’s children. This UNICEF special edition analyses progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in four priority areas for children: promoting healthy lives, providing a quality education, combating HIV and AIDS, and protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence." Also from UNICEF: The tsunami, 3 years on Little respite for Iraq’s children in 2007

Look up...and watch down

Skeptic — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:55:28 -0800

The GTC (Great Telescope Canaries) sees first light today. Apart from the sheer size (10.4 m) of its mirror and from the science it will deliver, the GTC is remarkable by its location at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory 2426 m high at the rim of the Caldera de Taburiente in the island of La Palma. La Palma is also, for a number of reasons, also interesting for geologists. In that regard, it made headlines a couple of years back due to a paper about the risk of a collapse of the island which could cause a devastating tsunami. Oh, and it's also a really nice place for a holiday.

Walk, don't run

furtive — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 12:22:13 -0800

Ice tsunami in Antartica (may not contain actual tsunami) via

Tsunami: The Aftermath

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 17:58:24 -0800

HBO and BBC2 present Tsunami: The Aftermath, their controversial dramatization of the disaster, shot in an area of Thailand devastated by the waves and featuring reluctant and poorly-paid survivors. Is it "too soon"?

The pirate Captain Morgan never saw this coming

Astro Zombie — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 10:51:41 -0800

Strippers, monkeys, pirates, and fire, a humorously titled account of the 1692 destruction by tsunami of the pirate city Port Royal.

Surf's Up?

jahmoon — Wed, 24 May 2006 00:31:34 -0800

SaveLivesInMay - "I have received information psychically, which is corroborated by scientific data, according to which on May 25, 2006 a giant tsunami will occur in the Atlantic Ocean, brought about by the impact of a comet fragment which will provoke the eruption of under-sea volcanoes. Waves up to 200 m high will reach coastlines located above and below the Tropic of Cancer." Are you at risk? Meanwhile, FEMA just happens to be preoccupied on the ~~Wrong~~ West Coast.

Then and Now: The 2004 Thailand Tsunami

monju_bosatsu — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 08:08:14 -0800

Thailand Tsunami: Then and Now. A series of photographs, taken by Zoriah, shows the some of the devastation caused by the 2004 tsunami and the subsequent recovery in Thailand. [via warshooter]

Children's art and the tsunami

Rumple — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 23:31:33 -0800

Roar: through the eyes of children, one year later, children's artistic responses to the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2005.

Meanwhile baby Tsunami turns one

A cubic yard of water weighs nearly a ton.

languagehat — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 15:25:56 -0800

The Day the Sea Came. The stories of six people caught up in last December's tsunami.

Maisara did not look back. She could hear an odd, ever-louder roar. But she never actually saw what she was running from. Only Anis, looking over her mother's left shoulder, beheld the oncoming water. "Mama, what is that?" the little girl kept yelling.

I know, it's the Times, it's long, it's old news, but it's absolutely riveting. Great reporting by Barry Bearak, and for this you need a reporter, not a novelist, because you can't make this stuff up. Part 1 (printer-friendly), Part 2 (printer), Part 3 (printer), Part 4 (printer).

The sounds of science

numlok — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 10:07:38 -0800

The Sound of a Distant Rumble: Using monitoring devices originally intended to pick up the sound of nuke launches, researchers track the underwater noise generated by the December 26 (tsunami) earthquake. Eerie audio file of the slowly-building roar is included on the page. (More info here as well)

Tsunami in Pacific

gunthersghost — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 21:04:18 -0800

Tsunami warning - 7.4 earthquake in the pacific

The quake felt 'round the world

KirkJobSluder — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 01:12:53 -0800

Worth picking up if you have a library with a subscription. The May 20th issue of Science was devoted to the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake of December 24 describing the full power of that event, the most powerful recorded since the deployment of modern electronic sensors. The multiple effects claimed include swarm earthquakes in Alaska, a shock wave that moved every place on Earth a centimeter, and resonant waves continuing weeks after the event. It is also the the longest rupture recorded and took over an hour to complete. Animated simulations of aspects of the event are linked through PhysOrg.com.

Feel Good Friday

kristin — Fri, 20 May 2005 08:40:13 -0800

Metafilter has discussed the tsunami this year, and the dreadful aftermath, especially on childrenbefore, and we have discussed the various forms relief efforts can take. Old Skool web journaler turned author (book 1)(book 2) (book 3) organizes book drives every year for libraries. This year, she is organizing donors to supply basic school supplies for children in areas hit hard by the tsunami. The Kancheepuram District she is targeting for help has a large child labour problem, so giving these children what they need for an education is more than just books and pencils - it is a way to help them avoid the fate of so many of their peers, and to transition from 'child labourer' to 'child'. Pam is partnering with Asha for education. Her readers donated enough to hit the first two goals (approx $7000.00 so far), and the goal now is to supply every child in the region - $11,428 in total.

It costs $4.61 USD to supply one child with an educational kit.

Web Waves

MLIS — Sun, 01 May 2005 20:20:28 -0800

Web Waves: Tsunami Blogs Respond to Disaster Four months after one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history, Searcher reports on tsunami-related blogs.

Beautiful, Tsunami-Battered Nais Island

breezeway — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:16:26 -0800

Located west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the tropical Island of Nias is renowned for its traditional buildings and archaic stone sculptures. In the 1920's, Danish doctor Agner Møller studied the local culture and language and created a unique collection of art, artefacts and photographs from Nias for the National Museum of Denmark.

Indie Pop Hearts Generosity

equipoise — Tue, 05 Apr 2005 21:00:02 -0800

Indie pop cares a lot! Sure, you could buy a tsunami relief album from famous or even religious folks, but wouldn't you prefer to get a free cd as a reward for your generosity instead? South Asia still needs your help, and some fabulous indie rockers (including a number of songfight celebrities) have pitched in to entertain your earhole.

Tsunami toll among women 3 times higher than men

peacay — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 06:35:22 -0800

The boxing day tsunami in Asia is said to have killed 3 times (3/4 of the way down the page) more women than men.
"Many of the losses are being tied to gender roles and styles--such as women's long hair, confining saris, extreme sense of modesty and selfless commitment to husbands and children--that hindered their ability to escape."
There have been reports of abuse (cache) and forced marriages in Refugee Camps as a consequence. Oxfam briefing note (.pdf) and summary.
via (previous tsunami threads)

8.2 earthquake off Indonesia

Mwongozi — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 09:06:35 -0800

Magnitude 8.2 earthquake off Indonesia Tsunami warning bulletins are posted here.

It's the end of the World as we know it...

Chunder — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 06:03:13 -0800

How will civilization end? With a b a n g, a c r u n c h(last link is PDF), a s p l a s h? Are we no longer more likely to kill ourselves than being killed by "Mother Nature"? (more inside)

Another tale of the sea

magullo — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 02:59:41 -0800

Mahabalipuram and the tsunami gifts

Sting has been very moved.

_sirmissalot_ — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 14:44:57 -0800

Sri Lanka Tsunami Suffering May Inspire Sting Song. Finally, some good news to come from this awful tradgedy. (via)

Photos of a couple's last minutes

mudpuppie — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 16:03:26 -0800

A Vancouver couple were only recently identified as victims of the Asian Tsunami. While they didn't survive, their photos of the approaching wave did. (First link includes info on how to donate to family's memorial fund.)