# Surviving an enormous Tsunami….(Meteor quality) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747 "2003-08-21T19:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/41 "2003-08-29T20:28:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wonder9 \* > \*\*As I remember that book, the next scene after that surfer dud catches that huge wave is that he sees a skyscraper suddenly appear before him and he gets smacked like a fly on the wall… Not a good plan. > > “Anyone lived in a pretty how town with upso floating many bells down” \*\* Yeah, those guys knew they were gonna die because they couldn’t get out of LA in time, they just figured on going out in high style. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/42 "2003-08-29T21:05:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoCoolUserName \* > **In Footfall the captain of the submarine _Ethan Allen_…** I didn’t know [Ethan Allen](http://www.ethanallen.com/ea/com.ethanallen.ecom.HomePageServlet) made submersible furniture. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/43 "2003-08-29T22:28:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pleonast \* > Also, can anyone find a cite for the size and speed of the shock wave? My intuition says a meteor large enough to create a such a large wave would actually vaporize the water instead. The friction of the wave with the air/water it’s trying to move through would probably heat everything up to much higher than 100 deg C. \*\* A (lets say d=1 mile ) meter strike in the ocean would vaporize a big hole in the ocean and probably strike the seabed floor. The water would then rush in to fill the hole causing the classic tsunami wave effect. ## Squink quote: ## A 5000 foot wave like Deep Impact would crush anything you could put together in 10 hours with about 2000 psi of pressure. I get 2343.75 psi. Shit…my tsunami escape pod is only rated to 2200 psi. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/44 "2003-08-29T22:32:33Z")
Hey, I just look the stuff up, I don’t explain it. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/45 "2003-08-30T14:53:22Z")
A boat would be nice, because it works in practice & the largest wave on record was survived by some people on a boat who rode it. The wave was approx 1,500+ feet high. “A massive rockslide at the head of Lituya Bay caused water to surge about 530 meters, generating a “gravity wave” that swept out of the bay. A fishing boat anchored in Anchorage Cove was carried in front of the largest wave crest, and those onboard estimated they cleared La Chaussee Spit (at the mouth of Lituya Bay) by 30 meters or more.” [http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/USA/1958\_07\_10.html](http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/USA/1958_07_10.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/46 "2003-08-30T18:01:25Z")
Besides, even if your little burried chamber _did_ survive, it would become your tomb. All the soil, rocks and so forth, both washed in and deposited on the outflow would probably bury you in sediment. You might make for an interesting discovery for arhiologists in the distant future. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/47 "2003-08-31T00:56:23Z")
Discussions of meteor impact from [Discovery channel](http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20030602/tsunami.html), [News in Science](http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/space/SpaceRepublish_867646.htm), [Mr. Christie](http://www.rense.com/general20/comingonedayg.htm) and [The Planetary Society](http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/tps-seti/crater.html). The final one includes charts and graphs and has a BUNCH of links. I don’t remember which article says that the wave from a 1 km (diameter) asteroid strike would be about 400 feet high and would diminish to 100 feet after 1000 miles of travel. The chance of the huge wave we’ve been talking about is microscopic. ---
**Author:** ![ready29003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@ready29003](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ready29003)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/48 "2003-09-04T15:49:26Z")
My conclusion is to head to the nearby Olympic Mountains and get as high as possible. Thanks@! Now to run a little fire drill with my family so we know exactly where to go. Gotta be prepared for this stufF! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/49 "2003-09-04T20:38:39Z")
"My conclusion is to head to the nearby Olympic Mountains and get as high as possible. " Ah, why don’t you get on a plane? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747/50 "2003-09-05T15:44:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ready29003 \* > \*\*My conclusion is to head to the nearby Olympic Mountains and get as high as possible. \*\* Are you certain that would be the right time to spark up? Maybe just have a couple beers instead. I also would suggest you traverse the mountain, to get to the leeward side. The wind will certainly lay everything on the windward side of the mountain flat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-an-enormous-tsunami-meteor-quality/196747.md?page=2)