Japan has issued a tsunami warning, with waves expected to reach up to 3 meters (about 10 feet) with the first waves at 10:30 (maybe).
News:
About 30 minutes ago, the warning system went off, and we received warning alerts on our phones.
We just moved from an apartment that was 1.5 meter above sea level, so we would have had to evacuated. The current apartment is 25 meters above sea level, so we’re fine.
The warning system is telling people near the beach to evacuate to a place that is lower than us, so we are OK, but we have a lot of friends down by the ocean.
We’re getting the same warning on the other side of the Pacific, all the way in BC:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tsunami-watch-july-29-1.7596997
Looks like there was a big-ass quake in Russia.
From the Guardian:
Tsunami warning issued for Hawaii
A tsunami warning has been issued for the state of Hawaii. Officials say it could cause “damage along coastlines of all islands in the state”, warning “urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property”. The US Tsunami Warning System said:
The danger can continue for many hours after the initial wave as subsequent waves arrive. Tsunami wave heights cannot be predicted and the first wave may not be the largest.
Got a warning in the San Francisco Bay area too.
SMC Alert: San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management: TSUNAMI WATCH is in effect for Coastal San Mateo County. AVOID coastal areas, beaches, and waterways. NO evacuation is advised at this time. Tsunami activity in the Bay Area is estimated to arrive at 12:40 AM. Monitor local news and official sources for updates.
So Ryo Tatsuki was off by a few weeks. Still not bad out of 15 years.
My home office window overlooks the ocean and you can hear the public address system constantly warning people to evacuate (to the designated location lower than us). Helicopters are flying over the coast and vehicles with sirens are going along the main road about a mile away.
This would have been a helluva a view in 2011.
Fox Weather cable channel (which has way better reporting than Fox News) is live with warnings, updates, and explanations right now. CNN’s cable broadcast isn’t doing anything right now as of the last check but their online reporting is staying on top of it.
CNN is doing a commercial break right now, but before that, they had a thumbnail in the corner, and they’re going to give more details in a few minutes.
I’m in Iowa, so I will not be directly affected. I hope all the tsunami (the word is both singular and plural) are the type where, if a person was on the beach, they go, “Whoa, that was a big wave!” and that’s it.
The explainer on Fox Weather pointed out that tsunami waves aren’t like “normal” waves in that the energy is present throughout the water column, and even a foot or two high tsunami can wreak havoc, as in a tsunami of a few years back destroyed a West Coast marina even though the wave wasn’t much more than a foot. I’m probably mangling this explanation, but if you think about how the 2004 tsunami moved in and in and in so relentlessly, it makes sense – there’s an ocean’s worth of power from displaced water pushing that wave.
ETA: So you don’t want to be standing in its path even if the water rise isn’t much more than a foot; it can still shove you down and mess you up.
Most nouns in Japanese do not have a plural form and while Japanese words previously imported into English are pluralized, recent ones tend to not be.
Even people in Sacramento got an alert.
I saw that the inland area was put on alert, presumably if the worst case scenario (something that is meters high) happens.
I’m impressed with how professional, thorough and clear Fox Weather’s coverage and explanations are. I recall they’ve also done topnotch work in covering recent previous natural disasters. And no signs that I’ve ever seen of trying to put any political spin into their newscasts. Well, granted, I’ve never heard climate change discussed, but other than that it’s excellent work.
We got an alert in Santa Barbara too but it’s at the “watch” level which is the lowest one and no action is advised even if you are directly on the beach.
A big deal here in Hawai’i. Traffic was brutal in downtown Hilo but we are home safe now (our house is not in an inundation zone).
First wave is supposed to hit about 10 minutes before nightfall. We will walk over to a very high bridge to watch if the light seems good enough. That’s still about 90 minutes away.
I’m hearing about 7:15 HST, which is 5 hours behind me in the Midwest.
Well, this particular event shouldn’t attract conspiracy theories because blue states (California and Hawaii) are at risk. Of course, if red states were in danger, MTG would probably be all about Jewish Space Lasers or something.
Watching Fox Weather showing live video from Japan and it’s scary as hell seeing how relentlessly the waves are pushing in.
A friend of mine lives in Honolulu, don’t know the area there. I’ve emailed her just now, haven’t heard back yet. I hope she and her cats will be okay.
We’re up-country in Mililani, Oahu so no problem here. Our family in Waimanalo over on the windward side is in the zone so evacuating here. We’ve got Costco pizza and plenty of eggs. Crowded house tonight if anything happens.